March 11 - 4:30pm EDT   The European Commission has approved the contribution of €99 million in French funding to a potential Google competitor, writes Agence France-Presse. The Quaero search engine project represents a collaboration between 23 different companies, including France's Thomson; it has not, however, so far found enough funding to get started, as its costs in the next five years are projected to be €199 million. The Commission itself has expressed doubts about Quaero, saying it "is not spontaneously underpinned by the market owing to divergent interests within the consortium and to uncertainties regarding the project's chances of success." [full story]