California

Details emerge on Spielberg, EA collaborative video games

REDWOOD CITY — Filmmaker Steven Spielberg and video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. are releasing a few tidbits about their ongoing collaboration to make three video games, but most details — including the game's titles — remain a secret.

Code-named "LMNO" and "PQRS," the first two games to come from the exclusive relationship will be previewed at this week's E3 Media & Business Summit, which starts today in Santa Monica.

The "LMNO" game is being created for Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 and PCs. It will be a "contemporary action adventure" where the player partners with a female character who evolves over time depending on how she interacts with others in the game, said Neil Young, general manager of EA's Los Angeles studio.

"PQRS," being developed for Nintendo Co.'s Wii, will have gamers wielding the wireless remote to manipulate blocks in various ways.

Young said to expect much more than a computerized version of Jenga when it's released in the current fiscal year.

Washington, D.C.

Little antitrust threat predicted for Murdoch

If News Corp.'s proposed $5 billion purchase of Dow Jones & Co. succeeds, antitrust lawyers predict that it would sail through regulatory review because Rupert Murdoch's global media empire is not concentrated in a particular product or region.

Acquisition of the Wall Street Journal's parent company likely could be approved in 30 days or less, the shortest review possible under antitrust law, says Robert Litan, a former Justice Department antitrust official who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Among other holdings, News Corp. owns the Fox broadcast network, Fox News Channel, the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, and has a one-third stake in satellite provider DirecTV. The company also owns the New York Post and the online social hangout site MySpace.

New York

Conde Nast to close Jane women's magazine this month

NEW YORK — Jane magazine will close this month after a nearly 10-year run, despite a turnaround effort that had shown signs of progress, Conde Nast Publications announced.

In the crowded field of women's magazines, Jane stood apart in aiming for a very specific demographic: single women in their 20s. It used an irreverent, conversational tone and often low-maintenance approach ("the lazy guide to great skin").

— From wire reports