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By Julia Fioretti BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission will take into account increased competition from cable operators and alternative services such as WhatsApp when it overhauls Europe's telecoms rules next year, a move that will be cheered by the telecoms industry. A draft seen by Reuters of the Commission's strategy for creating a digital single market says telecom operators compete with “over-the-top” services “without being subject to the same regulatory regime”. The bloc's telecom firms such as Orange and Deutsche Telekom have long called for lighter-touch regulation, after years of declining revenues and competition from new entrants, to enable them to invest in network upgrades. Telecom companies point to increased competition from services such as Skype (owned by Microsoft ) and online messaging as a reason for easing the regulatory burden.

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By Natalie Thomas BEIJING (Reuters) – In China's online hostessing world, men find virtual company and the women can find riches. Student Xiao Yue, 21, spends four hours most days chatting online with fans who shower her with virtual roses and other presents. She is one of more than 10,000 hostesses on the internet site bobo.com, a live broadcasting web platform where anyone can record themselves singing, playing piano, dancing or just chatting. Xiao Yue’s specialty is to sajiao – a very Chinese type of flirting characterized by the woman acting in a cutesy childlike manner and speaking in a whiny voice.

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By Jussi Rosendahl and Leila Abboud HELSINKI/PARIS (Reuters) – Nokia Oyj is in talks to buy smaller telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent , a deal combining the industry's two weakest players that is backed by the French government but could pose challenges in cutting costs. In a joint announcement, the Finnish and French companies said they were in “advanced discussions” on a “full combination, which would take the form of a public exchange offer by Nokia for Alcatel-Lucent”. Shares in Alcatel, a group worth about 11 billion euros based on Monday's closing share price, rose about 16 percent. Shares in Nokia, worth about 29 billion euros, fell as much as 7 percent in morning trade before paring back losses to end down 3.6 percent.

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(Reuters) – Apple Inc is likely to quickly ramp production of the Apple Watch after strong pre-orders outstripped limited supply in the first weekend following its launch, some Wall Street analysts said. Apple is widely expected to disclose weekend pre-order numbers at around 8:30 a.m. ET on Monday. According to shopping data firm Slice Intelligence, Apple booked nearly 1 million pre-orders for the Apple Watch in the United States on Friday. The Apple Watch, which allows users to check email, listen to music and make phone calls when paired with an iPhone, goes on sale officially on April 24.

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By Noel Randewich and Astrid Wendlandt SAN FRANCISCO/PARIS (Reuters) – Customers preordering Apple Inc's smartwatch on Friday will have to wait at least a month for delivery, a sign of strong early demand for company chief Tim Cook's first new major product. People flocked to Apple's stores around the world to get a close-up look at the Apple Watch, the tech company's foray into the personal luxury goods market, with Apple predicting demand would exceed supply at product launch. “We view this as an indication of solid demand paired with very limited supply,” Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster wrote in a note to clients. “We continue to expect modest sales in the June quarter as demand ramps over time.” A key factor in the watch's success will be demand once an initial wave of interest from Apple enthusiasts subsides.

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By Astrid Wendlandt and Pauline Askin PARIS/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Consumers flocked to Apple Inc's stores around the world on Friday to get the first close-up look at the tech giant's smartwatch, which the company expects will be its next runaway hit. The Apple Watch, CEO Tim Cook's first new major product and the company's first foray into the personal luxury goods market, was available for pre-order online and to try out in stores — but not to take home. On April 24, consumers will be able to buy it online or by appointment in shops including trendy fashion boutiques in Paris, London and Tokyo, part of Apple's strategy of positioning the wearable computer as a must-have accessory. Testing Apple's mastery of consumer trends, the watch is an untried concept for the California-based company.

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By Dan Levine SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court appeared skeptical on Wednesday toward Google Inc's bid to charge Microsoft Corp a high royalty rate to use some of the Internet search provider's Motorola Mobility patents. Microsoft sued Motorola in 2010, alleging Motorola breached its commitment to license some of its industry standard patents on fair terms. After a 2012 trial, a Seattle federal judge found that the appropriate rate for Motorola to license certain wireless and video technology used in the Xbox game console was only a fraction of what Motorola had asked for. Google sold the Motorola handset business to Lenovo last year, but kept its patents.

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French media group Vivendi has entered exclusive talks to buy 80 percent of video-sharing website Dailymotion from telecom operator Orange for 217 million euros ($236 million), the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday. Orange would keep the remaining 20 percent of the company as part of the deal, which corresponds to an enterprise value for Dailymotion of 265 million euros, the companies said. “Orange and Vivendi will now enter into a period of exclusive negotiations in order to finalize the terms of this operation,” the companies said. “For Orange … this operation meets the group's ambition to bring Dailymotion together with a strategic content-focused partner that is capable of giving it the means to accelerate its growth and to turn it into one of the world's largest content distribution platforms.” Orange said it will use the proceeds of this transaction to finance and reinforce its efforts in its digital business.

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SEOUL (Reuters) – Shares of Samsung Electronics Co Ltd rose more than 3 percent early on Monday ahead of the release of its guidance on first-quarter earnings scheduled for Tuesday. Samsung Electronics was up 3.2 percent and trading at 1,480,000 won as of 0109 GMT. (Reporting by Yeawon Choi; Editing by Edmund Klamann)