As part of its efforts to counter the bite of the economic downturn, the BBC is suspending bonuses and reviewing the pay scales of its executives. It is also set to reduce the amount it spends on talent.

The BBC is making the cuts in reaction to its dominant role during the recession compared with its struggling competitors, as well as to its own financial challenges, Michael Lyons, the head of the BBC Trust, said.

"There has been considerable disquiet in recent weeks about the salaries of top BBC staff," Lyons said.

The BBC announced this week that Worldwide revenues are in excess of 1 billion pounds, but that profits before interest, tax and exceptional charges were down to 86 million pounds from 118 million the previous year.

Now that savings have been made, where should that money be spent? The BBC says it needs to pay decent salaries to attract best talent, but do you agree? Should the licence fee be lowered?

In reaction to an independent BBC review on taste and standards commissioned after offensive comments about actor Andrew Sachs created a public outcry, the BBC Trust has said that the most offensive language should only be used in "exceptional circumstances" on BBC One between 9 and 10 p.m.

Editorial guidelines should clarify that BBC should not make programmes that "celebrate or condone gratuitous, aggressive, intrusive and humiliating behaviour," the Trust ruled, recognizing that "licence fee payers can distinguish between comedy and satire, which they appreciate, and unjustified humiliation, of which they disapprove."

The study, which polled 2,700 participants, finds that viewers don't want more censorship or regulation.

"Most people value the creativity of the BBC and accept it may sometimes result in people being offended."

What do you think? Should BBC allow swearing on air?

Cable TV company Virgin Media is set to launch a new music service which will allow its broadband customers to stream and download an unlimited number of tracks and albums for a monthly fee.

Virgin Media, which has almost 4 million broadband customers, has signed up the world's largest music company Universal Music Group to offer its artists such as U2 and Amy Winehouse. It expects to sign up the remaining major music labels before the launch at the end of this year.

The price is expected to be between 10 to 15 pounds per month and the two firms say it is a groundbreaking world first to allow the customers to download as many tracks as they want.

But the as yet unnamed service will also inevitably compete with illegal music-downloading services, which come for free.

As part of the deal, Virgin will also have the right to temporarily suspend those customers who are repeatedly using illegal sites to download their music.

Would you be convinced to pay the extra fee to guarantee a legal service and support the creative industries?

Or do you turn a blind eye to illegal file sharing and think an internet service provider should do the same?

How would you react to your online connection being disconnected?

If you are among the 51 percent of eligible voters expected not to participate in the European elections you can still cast a ballot of sorts -- online and from the comfort of home.

Rate Your Politician, billed as an "e-democracy" website for users in Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales by its Belfast-based founders, provides a grassroots voting platform on politicians and political topics.

Users not only vote on the site, but are also allowed to set their own poll questions.

"It allows people to actively and in real-time rate politicians," Patrick Lismore, 26, said in an interview. "People get to vote periodically, but this allows them to track politicians while they are in office."

The site displays data culled from users on individual politicians and on such topics as MPs' expenses, taxes, education, European currency and the environment.

Software engineer Lismore plans to promote sites for Ireland, Canada, the EU and the U.S. in an effort to increase its membership base and generate a global impact.

Ultimately, Lismore says he hopes the sites will collect information that will influence policy outcomes and "keep the government closer to the consent of the governed, thereby increasing its political legitimacy."

It's been a grim time for pigs.

First they were blamed for the swine flu that caused a worldwide stir after it was discovered in Mexico -- and now everyone's likening them to Members of Parliament with their snouts in the trough.

But look at the facts. The genetic make-up of the virus may have been predominantly porcine but the pigs themselves didn't have it. Even at the supposed epicentre of the outbreak in Mexico they showed no symptoms -- things reached such a state that owners of some pig farms in the US were stopping humans coming near them in case they infected their animals. The pigs were innocent OK?

And yet the name "swine flu" stuck, lots of people stopped eating pork and in Egypt they were even culled.

Now this. The image changes from dirty to greedy as all the cartoonists portray our expenses-hungry MPs as curly-tailed pinstriped pigs, shedding wads of notes from their pockets as they pile into the trough.

Experts say pigs are in fact sociable, clever animals. They clear ground, fertilise it, eat vegetable waste and then make the ultimate sacrifice for our bacon sandwiches.

As the fashion of the moment seems to be saying "sorry" for everything, perhaps we should offer our apologies to the pigs -- what about a statue of a Gloucestershire Old Spot on the vacant plinth in Trafalgar Square?

The recession is bringing back the strangest characters.  Rising from their graves like the zombies in Night of the Living Dead are people we thought had been buried decades ago.

The Milky Bar Kid is one, Persil mum is another and, inevitably, the Hovis bread delivery boy struggling up his cobbled hill while the brass band plays on.

What next? Bing Crosby singing about Shell perhaps or the famous Smash-peddling Martians who thought it was so funny that Earthlings bothered to peel potatoes?

Advertising experts believe nostalgia works because it takes adult consumers back to a time when they were young and without any worries. Never mind recession, the old ads say, these are value brands that have stood the test of time.

Marks and Spencer has been trying a similar tack with the launch of its 75p plain jam sandwiches. "For those who haven't eaten one for years, one bite takes you straight back to your childhood," runs the blurb.

The old ads are peculiarly effective transports to the past. Some of us go so far back we can still hear the jingle from Esso Blue adverts and remember those gobsmacked housewives comparing the whiteness of their newly washed sheets with Daz man. Ah, takes you back ...

Are there any old adverts that you would like to see come back?

(Hamlet cigars - Ed)

Bleary-eyed commuters passing through Clapham Junction station in southwest London on their way to work this week were among the first to witness the opening blast of one of the most remarkable advertising campaigns to have hit the capital in recent years.

No, not Flu Man sneezing his germs all over us but a short message in huge black lettering that simply says: "Sorry for losing touch."

The only clue as to who is so publicly donning the hair shirt is a small drawing tucked away in the corner of the hoarding featuring the Eros statue in Piccadilly Circus, the  logo of London's only paid-for evening paper, the Evening Standard.

The message is an attempt by the paper to reconnect with its readership now that it is under new ownership and will appear in the next few weeks on the side of buses and on the underground. Other slogans will say Sorry for being negative, for taking you for granted, for being complacent and for being predictable.

Not the hardest word at all then, though one that seems likely to cause considerable offence to the paper's former editor Veronica Wadley.

The campaign comes in response to market research, commissioned by the newspaper’s new editor, Geordie Greig, which found that Londoners felt the paper was too negative and did not meet the capital’s needs.

Russian tycoon and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev bought the loss-making Standard from the Daily Mail and General Trust in February and media analysts have long predicted it will become less right-wing in its political stance. Some expect it to go more upmarket in an attempt to distance itself from the free sheets which have cut so badly into its circulation.

But few can have predicted such a public confessional as this. The "Sorry" campaign will run for three weeks in the run-up to the 181-year-old paper's relaunch later this month.

After a year in which so many have been clamouring for a "sorry" from miscreants ranging from bankers to MPs and even debt-laden prime ministers, Londoners may actually soon find themselves becoming sick of the word.

The targeted online advertising company Phorm, which has been accused of spying, breaking the law and just about everything else in the last year, has launched its latest charm offensive in its battle to prove its innocence.

The British company sparked damning headlines last year when  it signed up the three biggest Internet service providers BT, Virgin Media and Carphone Warehouse to provide adverts to Web
sites based on the surfing trends of users.

Phorm says the system is completely anonymous, does not store data on its users and will enable online publishers to make more money by showing more relevant adverts. With more interesting ads, there would also be fewer needed, they say.

Its service, which is yet to launch, has been welcomed by the media regulator and minister in charge of planning Britain's digital future.

But its critics, who have formed Web sites, campaigns and a devoted following, say the company is "snooping" on online users and selling their surfing habits to advertising companies.

In its drive to win the PR battle, Phorm held its second "Town Hall" meeting on Tuesday evening to discuss the public's concerns and questions.

Far from feisty, the meeting was a mostly civil affair although the top table, led by former Chancellor and non-executive director Norman Lamont, still faced many questions on how they handle the data.

The rather tall men with wires dangling from their ears, looking suspiciously like security guards, had a quiet evening.

Chief Executive Kent Ertugrul, sounding somewhat exasperated at times, painted Phorm's opponents as a small fringe who had managed to create a lot of noise.

Phorm says customers will be given a choice as to whether they use the Webwise service and hinted that customers could be given incentives to sign up, saying reduced broadband connections or a donation to charity was being considered by the company.

They said they would gladly welcome a UN weapons "Hans Blix"-type inspector who could verify their promise of anonymity, but without that, would continue to answer as many questions as were put to them.

Would you consider using the technology to see more relevant ads or do you think Phorm is going a step too far.

-- Tom Ilube is chief executive officer of online security firm Garlik. The views expressed are his own. --

Facebook's announcement that they are taking a new approach to their policies on the use of personal data is a quantum leap. By allowing users a greater role in its governance, the world's most popular social network has set the benchmark for all organisations holding an individual's personal information.

It is a brave and important move for Facebook: by allowing users to have a say in the way that their personal information is used and distributed, consumers will finally be allowed to take control of their digital identities.

In the past couple of weeks, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has oscillated from holding on to people's information forever to the position he announced today - giving users the chance to have a say on what happens to this data.

Facebook has learned the hard way that consumers value transparency above everything else. The world watches their every move and this naïve attempt to change their terms and conditions, without fully consulting their users, meant there was an inevitable loss of credibility.

The scale of the backlash against the changes has clearly alarmed Facebook, and with over 8.5 million subscribers in the UK alone, the risks of not taking action were too high. The furore has re-awakened them to their responsibilities to users and also reminded them of their founding principle - to help make the world more open and transparent. And it is in accordance with this, they have published both the Facebook Principles and the Rights & Responsibilities.

Users are already thanking Facebook for their honesty and engagement on this crucial issue, with almost 3,000 publicly welcoming the move on Zuckerberg's blog. Naturally, the devil is in the detail and we must wait to see how this principles play out in practice. However, as the public become more aware of the dangers associated with posting personal information online, they begin to expect organisations to do more to ensure this data is not abused.

With this increasing acceptance of the importance of personal information, people have realised that it is a valuable commodity - not only to themselves, but also to companies and advertisers. As this awareness grows, organisations will not be allowed to take consumers' personal data for granted, and will learn that they can only earn the opportunity to gather it if they are aware of their obligation to use it responsibly.

The Information Commissioner has warned against tardiness with people's information and privacy - be it individuals on social networks or the Government's proposed mega database. In this light, it can only be hoped that Facebook's move will have implications for the wider world.

By democratising the gathering, storage, use and application of information obtained from its users, Facebook has acknowledged the huge responsibilities involved in holding personal data. Zuckerberg has now set the standard for transparent privacy policies within all online organisations and we will be watching avidly to see if others follow suit.