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Expect Big Things From Rupert Murdoch, Nokia At Web 2.0 Summit

It'll be an interesting gathering of the tribes next week as major players in the technology and entertainment industry are expected to unveil their latest products and services at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

Last year's event was a sold-out smash success, and next week's fourth annual gathering should be just as good. The event, which runs Oct. 17 - 19, is expected to be chock-full of discussion and debate about the most important issues and strategies driving the Internet economy and what we might expect in the coming year.

Headlining the bill will be Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp., whose MySpace property has redefined the nature of social networking. CEO and co-founder Chris DeWolfe is expected to lend some insight into the company's next steps.

Speculation is high that MySpace is gearing up to launch MySpace Platform. Sites like Valleywag and TechCrunch cite conversations with third-party developers who are helping DeWolfe and MySpace to open up its APIs in the same way that its rival Facebook did earlier this year.

Also expected to make headlines at the summit:

• Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, whose controversial comments about Google, Red Hat, and Linux are making waves again in the industry
• eBay CEO Meg Whitman, who cut Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom loose earlier this month, will now take a $1.4 billion charge related to Skype's operation
• Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, whose wireless division is raising the stakes in the upcoming 700-MHz auction by buying $2.5 billion worth of spectrum from Aloha Partners
• Philippe Dauman, CEO of Viacom whose legal department worked overtime this year trying to cleanse Web 2.0 sites like YouTube of copyrighted content

But it's the product announcements that should get most people's attention. Last year's hullabaloo came when CEO Jeff Bezos revealed Amazon's WebOS initiatives. This year should be no different. Already Nokia and a host of other Web 2.0 companies have pre-announced their announcements.

For example, iQuestions.com will be providing practical answers to real-life questions in bite-sized, high-definition videos in the form of a product roll-out. Userplane plans to announce Userplane Feeds, a collection of free APIs, making it easy for Web site developers and publishers to access and integrate applications that add content and function to their Web sites.

Nokia's "major product announcement" may include a new Web 2.0-enabled smartphone that could rival Apple's iPhone. Already, Nokia has set itself up for advanced mobile experiences with a feature announced this week that "auto-connects" Nokia users to Wi-Fi hotspots.

Mitch Wagner, Rick Martin, and Antone Gonsalves will be covering the show for InformationWeek. Look for more blog and breaking news coverage in this space.

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