Google has extended a ban on online gambling providers' use of AdWords to include even services that are free to consumers.

Both Yahoo! and Google outlawed ads for internet casinos and poker services back in 2004, drawing ire from the industry, which many say benefits from online advertising more than others.

Now the ban in the UK has been extended to apply also to sites that help users to gamble but on which no money changes hands. Many commercial gambling sites use initial free-play options to attract customers to upgraded pay-for gaming options.

The new policy covers gambling tutorials, sites offering play-for-fun features and those promoting gambling-related content.

Google's Urchin analytics software goes public and Includes New Upgrades

Google has announced that the Urchin Software is now in public beta and can be downloaded at urchin.com.

Google says the software is similar to Google Analytics but you install and manage the software on your own servers. The company says the beta software "should only be used for evaluation purposes," and it is not recommended for production environment.