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Ad-funded, youth-targeted European mobile virtual network operator Blyk announced yesterday that it had secured a massive $50 million (40 million euros) in funding from its existing backers, which include Goldman Sachs, IFIC and Sofinnova Partners, no mean feat for a company whose business model relies almost entirely on advertising at a time when the downturn is clearly hurting ad revenues. But Blyk CEO Pekka Ala-Pietilä, and ex-president of Nokia, says that the company, which now has 200,000 users in its targeted age group of 18-24 who have agreed to view ads in return for free airtime, is not only poised to "weather the storm," it may well have edge during the recession. Blyk has "taken measures to streamline and cut costs"--what does this mean exactly? "It means first of all that we are experiencing tougher times and unpredictable times ahead of us, and we like everyone else are feeling the impact, so we have to be well prepared and to do things differently internally. We are working more smartly, and we have to cut the number of people. But I can't disclose that number." Growing the subscriber base: "This hasn't been a challenge. Now more than ever people want free things." The downturn is obviously having an impact on advertising, what does this mean for Blyk, given that your model is so reliant on it? "In Blyk's case there are interesting things that will help us weather the storm. If you can send relevant messages, you cut down on waste. Our form of advertising is extremely measurable, and during times when people are very careful when planning how best to spend their money, we see this even giving us an edge. (Blyk claims an average response rate of 25 percent for the 2000+ campaigns it has run in the UK.) Also, the mobile advertising industry is still small and we believe it will be less impacted because of its relatively smaller size." But despite the cuts, international expansion is going ahead...

-- Mywaves Adds Indian Studio Content To Platform: Mukta Arts , a 30-year-old film studio in India, is bringing its content to mywaves to promote upcoming films and pictures from its existing catalog. The new channel will include trailers, behind-the-scenes interviews, music videos, outtakes from films and promotions for upcoming releases such as Yuvvraaj. Mukta Arts has also worked with mywaves to implement a click-to-download feature that will direct users to free wallpapers for its latest film. -- Useful Networks Launches Facebook Friend Finder On Sprint: Useful Networks' friend finder, or sniff, for short, is now available on Sprint ( NYSE: S ). The application, which is already been available in Scandinavia and the U.K., allows users to find friends by either sending a text message or through the integrated Facebook application. After permissions are cleared, users will receive a detailed map view of their friends' locations. Users are charged 25 cents per "sniff." The company plans to expand to more U.S. carriers soon and is working on deals in Turkey, Canada and France that it hopes to complete in the coming months. -- Bluetooth Marketing For Bay Area Cruise On Pier 39: A 30-minute high-speed cruise of the San Francisco Bay has been using Bluetooth on Pier 39 to attract more customers. RocketBoat, which provide 30-minute tours of the Bay, held two five-day Bluetooth marketing campaigns in October that received opt-in rates of 26 percent, according to Intera Group , which ran the campaign. People in the vicinity, who leave Bluetooth activated on their phone, receive a message asking if they want to get the offer. Of those who said yes, there was an 18 percent success rate on direct ticket sales. Over ten days, that translated to 300 people who downloaded promotions. Of those, 53 people purchased 64 tickets. -- Sky uses adinMotion: British broadcaster Sky will use Ad Infuse's technology platform adInMotion to enable display advertising across...

British broadcaster Channel 4 is shutting down its mobile ad sales operation as part of its £100 million ($157 million) two year retrenchment plan, reports Brandrepublic.com . The unit is being axed, along with its iTV, or "red button" ad sales unit, which has seen a "steep decline" in the demand in the past year. The cash-strapped broadcaster said they may revisit mobile ads when demand picks up. Channel 4 currently produces 20 minute rolling loop of some its most popular TV shows, including evening soap Hollyoaks, home design show Grand Designs, and Supernanny. The content airs on all of the UK's major operators and carries ads, which will be dropped starting 31 December. Check out the best business jobs in digital media. Go here for paidContent.org Job Board.

-- O2 relaunches portal: UK operator O2 has relaunched a reworked version of its Active mobile internet portal for its latest handsets so that the site more closely replicates a PC experience, reports NMA.co.uk . The portal also makes it easier for subscribers to reach mobile internet sites. The new portal launches across 15 handsets ranging from Nokia ( NYSE: NOK ) and Sony ( NYSE: SNE ) Ericsson ( NSDQ: ERIC ), but not including the iPhone for now. -- Birmingham Post goes mobile: UK newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror ( LSE: TNI ) has launched a mobile version of the Birmingham Post. The mobile version contains content designed specifically for mobile screens, alongside the ability to customise the site's homepage. Users can select different content, send stories to friends, or post comments on specific stories, reports Journalism.co.uk . -- Cellfire partners with GameStop: Mobile couponing service Cellfire said GameStop will use its service to distribute mobile coupons redeemable at more than 4,200 of its video-game stores. Customers will just have to show the coupon on their phone's display to get the discount. To receive the coupons, users will have to subscribe to the service on their Web site, or text a certain codes to 22888 to get the specific offers. To get an 30 percent credit when trading in or exchanging games, use "GSA," and to receive 20 percent off any used game Text "GSD." -- Sony Ericsson launches SDK for Xperia: Sony Ericsson said the SDK, which will enable developers to build apps tailored to the XPERIA phone, is now available with even more tools. Initially available in Sept., developers have already been able to start using the SDK, but now in version 1.0.4, there's added support for Windows Vista, and now there's a true phone device emulator, allowing developers to text apps without having to have a phone. Developers will also be able to enter their work in the 2008 Sony Ericsson Content Awards in a special category...

Madhouse, the Chinese mobile marketing and advertising startup, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Nokia's $250 million VC arm Nokia ( NYSE: NOK ) Growth Partners. This is the VC firm's first deal in the mainland. The Shanghai-based company received $8 million in its second round last year. Some more details here . Related MadHouse Raises $8 Million In Second Round Funding Our mobile application for Blackberry and other Smartphones brings you the latest headlines when you're on the go. Go here to download .

A couple of weeks after saying it raised $2 million in angel funding , Atlanta-based Whoop said it is acquiring the assets of XOsphere, a California-based company with operations also in Latin America. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but said XOsphere's management team will join the new company. Whoop helps people publish mobile web sites through a hosted application. A Whoop Agent resides on the phone and acts as a translator, interpreting content and optimizing it for the device it's running on. The executives joining from XOsphere are: Andrew Dod, SVP of marketing, Demetrio Cuzzocrea, VP of creative services and Manuel Reyna, managing director of Latin America. Release. Our mobile application for Blackberry and other Smartphones brings you the latest headlines when you're on the go. Go here to download .