Three UK has launched 0.facebook.com, the 'lightweight' mobile version of the social networking site. The service was announced at Mobile World Congress this year and went live in May, although it wasn't supported by any UK networks. Now Three says it'll offer its customers free mobile browsing on the new 'Facebook Zero' site for at least the next 12 months.

Yesterday, technology news website TechCrunch reported rumours that Facebook was 'building' a mobile phone by creating the software and working with a third party for the hardware. It noted that Facebook wanted to integrate itself into the contacts list and other core functions. A possible partnership with INQ was suggested, which would follow in the footsteps of the INQ1 handset.

Facebook Places, the location-sharing service that potentially threatens stand-alone services such as Foursquare, is now available in the UK. It launched in the USA last month.

HipLogic, which already offers an alternative 'home screen' with live information for mobile users, has announced a new application called *Spark. (Yes, the asterisk is part of the product name). It's currently available free in beta form for Android and Symbian users, having been revealed yesterday at Nokia World in London and at DEMO in San Francisco.

A company called Interval Licensing LLC has filed a complaint for patent infringement against AOL, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo! and YouTube. The name may not be familiar but Interval Licensing is owned and controlled by Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates. It generated approximately 300 patents in less than a decade – and four of those patents are the basis for the legal action.