Wpromote is excited to offer Email Marketing solutions to its current and future clients, said Hernan Vicuna, Email Marketing Manager at Wpromote. Consumers get email at every technology touch point they come across throughout the day: Mobile, Tablet and Laptop. No matter what aspect of marketing your company is focusing on, email leverages the power of your SEO, PPC and Social Media campaigns and delivers highly targeted messages to your key demographic. Its the best way to tie all your marketing efforts together!

Email Marketing, one of the first forms of online advertising available, is still one of the most powerful elements of marketing and also one of the most overlooked. Wpromote's Email Marketing Management service was designed to integrate seamlessly with existing online marketing efforts and is the ideal place to increase customer lifetime value, introduce new services or products, directly create ROI and improve brand awareness.

The Email Marketing Management services include an in-depth audit of current Email Marketing efforts, competitive landscape analysis, as well as the set up of an Email Service Provider (ESP), web analytics and tracking. Wpromote will also provide email coding, graphic design, message creation, subject line testing, landing page optimization, email deployment, data integration, list growth and segmentation. Following the mantra, Always Test Everything, Wpromotes goal is to drive significant revenue for their clients using Email Marketing.

Email Marketing is known to deliver a $40 to $1 ROI*. For many it is opportunity hidden in plain site,us to get more information!

About Wpromote

is an award winning online advertising firm headquartered in El Segundo, CA. Founded in 2001 by Michael Mothner, Wpromote has helped over 37,000 clients grow their businesses online. With unmatched experience in search marketing and an unrivaled dedication to our clients' results, we always stand out above the crowd. The 85+ employees at Wpromote currently manage more than 3,500 clients spanning a wide range of industries and verticals in over 60 countries worldwide. A few integrated search engine marketing clients include Bayer HealthCare, Dickies, Toyota, Allied Van Lines, HP, Southern California Edison, Symantec, Southern New Hampshire University and Wine.com.

*source:

Jamie LaneWpromote310.683.0438

Negotiations on the treaty mark the most sustained effort so far by governments from around the world to agree on how - or whether - to regulate cyberspace.

The United States, Europe, Canada and other advocates of a hands-off approach to Internet regulation want to limit the new treaty's scope to telecom companies.

But Russia, China and many Arab states, which want greater governmental control, have been pushing to expand the treaty beyond traditional telecom operators.

Representatives from about 150 countries - members of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) - have been negotiating for the past eight days in Dubai on the new treaty, which was last revised in 1988, before the advent of the World Wide Web.

The Russia-led proposal could have allowed countries to block some Internet locations and take control of the allocation of Internet addresses currently overseen by ICANN, a self-governing organization under contract to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

An ITU spokesman said this plan had now been scrapped.

"It looks like the Russians and Chinese overplayed their hand," said American cyber security expert Jim Lewis of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

U.S. ambassador Terry Kramer welcomed the decision to withdraw the Russia-led plan. But he also said: "These issues will continue to be on the table for discussion in other forms during the remainder of the conference."

China, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates had co-signed the aborted proposal. The UAE insisted the document had not been withdrawn.

"It may come down to the wire," said a Western delegate on condition of anonymity. "There are a lot of other (similar) proposals so I don't think this represents a substantial conclusion and could be just maneuvering."

The ITU usually takes decisions by consensus, but the intransigence of both sides means it could come to a vote in which the United States and its allies might be in the minority.

The United States' position is that the Internet has flourished with minimal state interference. It wants this to continue, arguing that many of the proposed treaty changes could allow governments to stifle free speech, reduce online anonymity and censor Internet content.

Russia and its allies have insisted they need new powers to fight cyber crime and protect networks.

Countries can opt out of parts of the revised treaty when it is finalized or even refuse to sign it

The talks are due to end on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Joseph Menn. Editing by Jane Merriman)

The vote for 23 state governorships, seven of which are currently controlled by the opposition, has been overshadowed by the president's battle to recover from cancer surgery in Cuba.

Capriles, 40, needs to hold on to the governorship of Miranda state to remain the opposition's presidential candidate-in-waiting, while both sides will want a good showing to create momentum in case of a new showdown over who replaces Chavez.

"This is the best indication of how well the opposition will fare in an upcoming contest for the presidency between Henrique Capriles and designated Chavez dauphin Vice President Nicolas Maduro," said Russell Dallen of Caracas-based BBO Financial Services.

Turnout was thin in early voting across the country, in contrast to the long lines for the presidential ballot two months ago, which handed Chavez a third term.

"I'm surprised. In the presidential election I got here at 3 a.m. and there were a lot of people in line. Today I got here at 5 a.m. and I was the first person," said Nathaly Betancourt, who was voting in the western city of Punto Fijo.

Opposition sympathizers complained via Twitter that centers in affluent anti-Chavez sectors of Caracas that are crucial for Capriles were notably empty.

The South American OPEC nation appears more focused on Chavez's recovery in Havana from Tuesday's operation, the socialist leader's fourth since he was diagnosed with cancer in his pelvic region in mid-2011.

Government officials on Saturday night said Chavez had regained full consciousness and was giving instructions. His son-in-law, who serves as Science and Technology Minister, acknowledged there had been "moments of tension" during and after the operation, but said Chavez was steadily improving.

Few medical details have been released, so speculation remains rife that Chavez may be in a life-threatening situation in Havana's Cimeq hospital with both a difficult post-operative recovery and a possible spreading of the cancer.

Chavez, 58, is due to start a new term on January 10, but has named Maduro as his preferred successor should he be incapacitated. That would trigger a new presidential poll within 30 days.

EMOTIONAL BACKDROP

Chavez's illness has led to an outpouring of emotion including Catholic masses, prayer meetings and vigils across the country.

Maduro has wept in public, state media are replaying images of Chavez round-the-clock, and various government candidates held closing rallies simply playing the president's voice.

The sympathy factor could benefit Chavez's candidates and offset the disadvantage of losing his charismatic presence on the campaign trail in advance.

"Without wishing to be triumphalist, we have big chances of winning the 23 governorships and that is the biggest support we can give Chavez," said his brother Adan Chavez, who is seeking re-election in their home state of Barinas.

Still smarting from defeat in October, the opposition hopes voters will focus on grassroots issues and punish the government for power outages, pot-hole riddled roads, corruption scandals, violent crime and runaway inflation.

"I put my life at the service of Miranda and Venezuela," Capriles said in his closing rally. "I'm not here to stay in power but to make a dream (of national change) come true."

Though widely expected to retain his Miranda seat, Capriles faces a well-financed challenge from senior Chavez ally Elias Jaua, a former vice president. If he defeats Capriles, it would leave the opposition in disarray and possibly spark in-fighting over who would be its next presidential candidate.

Two other opposition governors, Pablo Perez and Henri Falcon, are obvious possibilities. But first they too must retain their posts to maintain credibility, and they do not have the national recognition Capriles achieved during his unsuccessful run for the presidency in October.

Despite losing, he won the opposition's largest share - 6.5 million votes, or 45 percent - against Chavez, and impressed Venezuelans with his energetic style, visits to the remotest corners of the country and attention to day-to-day issues.

"In the unlikely event that Capriles loses, he would probably have no chance of running for the presidency again," political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said.

The mid-December timing of the vote could count against the opposition, many of whose middle-class supporters often take advantage of school holidays to travel.

To follow us on Twitter: @ReutersVzla

(Additional reporting by Marianna Parraga in Caracas and Sailu Urribarri in Punto Fijo; editing by Paul Simao and Todd Eastham)

"What I would like to see is a level of accountability on the part of the NFL and Commissioner Goodell in regards to mishandling of this entire situation," Brees said after practice Wednesday. "We as players hold ourselves and are held to a very strict code of conduct both on and off the field. We have to be accountable to that, as it should be, and I feel like they should be held to the same standards.

"If someone would just come out in the league office and admit, 'You know what? We could have handled this situation better,' it would go such a long way with both players and fans. People would really come around to realize what this thing was all about because right now the league office and Commissioner Goodell have very little to no credibility with us as players."

Speaking later at a special league meeting in Dallas, Goodell, when apprised of Brees' comments, said he wouldn't apologize.

"To have a bounty program where you're targeting players for injury is completely unacceptable in the NFL, and it is clear that occurred for three years despite all of the denials," Goodell said.

Vilma was initially suspended an entire season while three other players Saints defensive end Will Smith, Cleveland linebacker Scott Fujita and free-agent defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove, received various suspensions of shorter lengths.

Paul Tagliabue, the former commissioner appointed by Goodell to handle the final round of appeals, threw out the suspensions and ruled there would be no fines, either, for any of the players. However, he absolved only Fujita. Tagliabue still found that Vilma and Smith took part in a Saints program that rewarded injurious hits and that Hargrove was not entirely truthful when NFL investigators asked him about the pool, but he said the suspensions levied by Goodell were disproportionate to how players had historically been punished for similar behavior, and because there was no clear link to "tough talk" about taking opponents out of game and the actual play on the field.

In motions filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, Vilma and the NFL Players Association filed motions dropping their claims against the league over the player-discipline phase of the bounty probe.

However, Vilma notified U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan he would continue to pursue defamation claims he filed against the commissioner back in May, and asked the judge to open the discovery process which includes the collection of evidence and deposing of witnesses.

Later in the day, Berrigan ruled against opening discovery at this time, likely because she has yet to rule on the NFL's motion to dismiss Vilma's claims.

Vilma made it clear that he still believes his reputation has been harmed by the way Goodell spoke publicly about allegations that Vilma was the ring-leader of a bounty program which rewarded hits that injured targeted opponents, and that he put up $10,000 bounties on Kurt Warner and Brett Favre in the 2009-10 playoffs.

"Well the most important part of me being able to play now and not having to worry about a lingering suspension, that part is over," Vilma said. "I'm excited about that. The next part is really, that's outside of football. That's talking about attacking a man's character, attacking a man's integrity.

Vilma said he could not be sure what kind of settlement he might be willing to accept, but sounded like he was more interested in seeing through a court case with evidence made public than taking a financial settlement and keeping quiet.

"This is my career. There are no do-overs in football. I don't get to stop, wait five years and start over and come back with a new attitude, or a new face, or anything like that," Vilma said. "This is my legacy. This is what I leave behind. If I were to stop now, the only thing people are going to remember is the bounty. They're not going to remember anything before that. They're not going to remember all the accolades. That's why it's very important."

Goodell said Tagliabue's report "made it quite clear that he holds the management and the coaches responsible. My personal view is I hold everyone responsible. We have to have a personal responsibility here. Player health and safety is an important issue in this league."

Saints head coach Sean Payton is serving a full-season suspension, while general manager Mickey Loomis served eight games and assistant head coach Joe Vitt six.

Smith, the Saints' defensive end, also was critical of Tagliabue's opinion, saying that while he was pleased his suspension was overturned, he did not understand why he wasn't completely exonerated. He said he thought the testimony of two key NFL witnesses in the probe, former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and former defensive assistant Mike Cerullo, cleared him, though the NFL disagreed.

According to transcripts of closed hearings obtained by The Associated Press from a person with the role in the case, Williams and Cerullo both testified that Smith contributed money to a pay-for-performance pool that among other things rewarded hard legal hits, including those that knocked players out of games. However, when asked directly if Smith every put a bounty on anyone or even suggested that the Saints should try to injure any opposing player, both former coaches answered, "No."

"People actually think that we actually went out and did this, and we didn't do this," Smith said of the bounty program, adding that he had not decided whether to pursue any defamation claims of his own. "The only thing that was going on was a pay-for-performance that pretty much every other team in the league has and have had for years. That was it, I never participate in a bounty or put money down to injure another player or encourage other guys to injure other players."

Vilma said he was not bothered by the wording of Tagliabue's ruling, saying he fully expected the former commissioner, who works with a firm that represents the NFL, to be careful not to expose his client to liability.

Brees had a dimmer view.

"I hate to say this because it sounds so conspiracy theorist, but it seems like the last, at least, month or so, especially once Tagliabue stepped in, it's very staged, as in, 'OK, how do we get ourselves out of this mess, let the players off," Brees said. "Thank God we have a union that can represent the players and fight the process and represent our guys. Unfortunately, the coaches don't have that. The coaches are told the way it's going to be, and they have no way to fight back unfortunately, because I'd say certainly Mickey Loomis, Joe Vitt and Sean Payton didn't deserve what they got.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan ticked up to 4 percent from 3.99 percent. Six weeks ago, it dropped to a record low of 3.94 percent, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.31 percent from 3.30 percent. Six weeks ago, it hit a record low of 3.26 percent.

Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks this year. Yet this year could be the worst for home sales in 14 years.

Mortgage applications fell 10 percent this week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that could lose value over the next three to four years. And most homeowners who can afford to refinance already have.

The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 percent. Refinancing fell 12.2 percent last week, according to the mortgage bankers group.

The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.

The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages were unchanged at 0.7.

The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 2.97 percent from 2.98 percent. The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan increased to 2.98 percent from 2.95 percent.

The average fees on the five-year and one-year adjustable loans were both unchanged at 0.6.

To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will begin a pilot program early next year to test the new line and the software to manage them on its network.

The news, which sent RIM shares up more than 6 percent on Thursday morning, extends a weeks-long rally that has pushed the stock to its highest close in more than seven months.

Investors have warmed to the stock - which had lost about 75 percent of its value in the last two years - on evidence that the make-or-break BB10 line is gaining traction with RIM's bread-and-butter customers in the weeks before its January 30 launch.

RIM, a one-time pioneer in the smartphone industry, has lost market share in recent years to Apple's iPhone and devices powered by Google's market-leading Android operating system. Even RIM's core business customers, who once used BlackBerry devices almost exclusively, have been defecting in droves.

BB10 represents Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM's best hope of persuading both corporations and government users to stick with its smartphones, long valued for their strong security features. RIM promises the new line, powered by the BlackBerry 10 operating system, will perform more smoothly and with more speed than previous BlackBerrys.

ICE is one of the customers it hopes to win over.

"Our priority is to ensure that ICE and all government agencies understand the full capabilities of the new BlackBerry 10 platform and how it can help them meet their mobility needs today and in the future," said Scott Totzke, RIM's senior vice president of BlackBerry Security.

ICE in October announced plans to end a long relationship with RIM, saying that its aging lineup of BlackBerry devices could "no longer meet the mobile technology needs of the agency." At the time, ICE said it would buy iPhones for about 17,600 employees.

A spokeswoman for the agency said on Thursday ICE is not backing away from either Apple or RIM.

"Given the nature of a rapidly evolving marketplace for mobile computing and the rising expectations of our users ... the pilot with RIM is a prudent technology management practice," said Barbara Gonzalez, the agency's press secretary.

Gonzalez said the agency is developing mobile applications for law enforcement and it is looking into how BlackBerry 10 may be able to provide mobility solutions in the future.

"ICE and RIM have had a long and good relationship, and we plan to continue that relationship," she said.

SECURITY ADVANTAGE

Last month, RIM said it had won a much-coveted U.S. government security clearance for its BlackBerry 10 devices and its new enterprise management platform.

The company said it was the first time a BlackBerry product had won Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certification ahead of launch.

The certification, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is one of the minimum criteria for products used by U.S. government agencies and other regulated industries that store, transfer, share and disseminate sensitive information.

The stamp of approval gives many of RIM's security-conscious enterprise clients confidence that data on smartphones running BlackBerry 10 can be properly secured and encrypted.

RIM, which has begun beta testing its mobile device management software BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 with a handful of key enterprise customers, said ICE will be one of the first government organizations to pilot the BlackBerry 10 devices.

SHARES SURGE

RIM shares closed on Thursday 4.1 percent higher at $13.86, after rising as high as $14.16 on the Nasdaq. Its Toronto-listed shares ended the day 3.7 percent higher at C$13.63.

A day earlier RIM shares rallied after favorable comments by Eric Jackson, a long-time bear on RIM's stock. In a piece published on Thestreet.com, he wrote that he now has a long position in RIM, dropping his bets that the stock would drop.

Jackson said the positive sentiment building in RIM's stock is unlikely to dissipate any time soon. He said many of RIM's 80 million subscribers are likely to upgrade to the BB10 when the new devices are launched.

The stock has more than doubled in price since September 24, when RIM's shares were trading slightly above the $6 level.

(Editing by Dan Grebler, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Andrew Hay and Phil Berlowitz)

* Leaders Bayern held at home (Adds quotes)

BERLIN, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Substitute Xherdan Shaqiri's first Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich rescued a 1-1 home draw for the runaway leaders on Friday after Borussia Moenchengladbach had taken a surprise first-half lead.

Bayern enjoyed almost total dominance but were shaken when Thorben Marx converted a harshly-awarded penalty for Gladbach midway through the first half.

Marx went from hero to villain when his misplaced pass fell to Shaqiri, who joined from Basel at the start of the season, and the 21-year-old Kosovo-born Swiss international fired the equaliser in the 59th minute.

"We dictated the game and they hardly had a scoring chance," Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told reporters.

"(Gladbach keeper Marc-Andre) Ter Stegen was the best player on the pitch. He was outstanding."

Shaqiri, who had already scored in the Champions League and German Cup, went on in the first half following an injury to Spanish midfielder and record German signing Javi Martinez.

It was a rare hiccup for the Bavarians who failed to win for only the fourth time in the league this season.

Bayern reached the halfway point of the campaign and the mid-season break with an impressive 42 points from 17 games, 44 goals scored and just seven conceded.

They are 12 points clear of Bayer Leverkusen, who host mercurial Hamburg SV on Saturday. Champions Borussia Dortmund, a further three points behind in third spot, visit Hoffenheim on Sunday.

SEVERAL APPEALS

Referee Tobias Welz held his nerve and turned down several Bayern penalty appeals throughout the match despite furious protests from the players and crowd on each occasion.

Sixth-placed Gladbach survived an early battering and went ahead when Tolga Cigerci's cross hit Jerome Boateng's elbow from close range as the defender turned away and Marx confidently steered the penalty low into the right corner.

Bastian Schweinsteiger's free kick was headed off the line by Juan Arango with Ter Stegen beaten and Brazilian Dante's header scraped the crossbar in the next attack as Bayern hit back.

There was no let up for Gladbach after the break either.

Ter Stegen made an outstanding save at full stretch to stop Schweinsteiger's low shot from finding the bottom corner.

Dante also went close with a header and Franck Ribery was foiled by a borderline offside decision as he was poised to put the finishing touch to a counter attack.

Bayern levelled when Marx lost possession on the edge of the area and Shaqiri won the ball, slipped past his marker and fired a low shot between Ter Stegen and the near post.

Ter Stegen made another save to deny a dipping 30-metre effort by Toni Kroos while Mario Gomez produced the loudest penalty appeal with a triple somersault in the area.

Television replays suggested a defender made slight contact and that Gomez's theatrical fall was an exaggeration.

"I had too much to do but we fought hard and worked hard," said Ter Stegen. (Writing by Brian Homewood; editing by Tony Jimenez)

Singer Whitney Houston was the "top trending" search of the year, according to Google Inc.'s year-end "zeitgeist" report. Google's 12th annual roundup is "an in-depth look at the spirit of the times as seen through the billions of searches on Google over the past year," the company said in a blog post Wednesday.

Google defines topics as "trending" when they get a high amount of traffic over a sustained period of time.

People around the globe searched for news about Houston's accidental drowning in a bathtub just before she was to perform at a pre-Grammy Awards party in February.

Korean rapper PSY's "Gangnam Style" music video trotted into second spot, a testament to his self-deprecating dance move. The video is approaching a billion views on YouTube.

Superstorm Sandy, which knocked out power and flooded parts of the East Coast in the midst of a U.S. presidential campaign, was third.

The next biggest trending searches globally were a pair of threes: the iPad 3 tablet from Apple Inc. and Diablo 3, a popular video game.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Kate Middleton, who made news with scandalous photos and a royal pregnancy; the 2012 Olympics in London; Amanda Todd, a Canadian teen who was found dead of an apparent suicide in October after being bullied online; Michael Clarke Duncan, the "Green Mile" actor who died of a heart attack in September at age 54; and "BBB12," the 12th edition of "Big Brother Brasil," a reality show featuring scantily clad men and women living together.

Some trending people, according to Google, were the following:

Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver who became the first to break the sound barrier without a vehicle with a 24-mile (38-kilometre) plummet from Earth's stratosphere;

Jeremy Lin, the undrafted National Basketball Association star who exploded off the New York Knicks bench and sparked a wave of "Linsanity";

Morgan Freeman, the actor whose untimely death turned out not to be true.

The Internet continued its rise as a popular tool for spreading addictive ideas and phrases known as "memes."

This year, Facebook said its top memes included "TBH (To Be Honest)," ''YOLO (You Only Live Once)," ''SMH (Shake My Head)." Thanks to an endlessly fascinating U.S. presidential campaign, Big Bird of "Sesame Street" made the list after Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he might consider cutting some funds for public broadcasting.

Yahoo said its own top-searched memes for the year included "Kony 2012," a reference to the short film and campaign against Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony; "stingray photobomb" for an unusual vacation snapshot that went viral; and "binders full of women," another nod to Romney for his awkward description of his search for women cabinet members as Massachusetts' governor.

And people were happy to pass on popular Twitter posts by retweeting them. According to Twitter, the year's most popular retweets were President Barack Obama's "Four more years" and Justin Bieber's farewell to 6-year-old fan Avalanna Routh, who died of a rare form of brain cancer: "RIP Avalanna. i love you".