The Ben Franklin Project’s one-shot deal is the preparation of all daily newspapers in the Journal Register Company using free software for publication on the Fourth of July, a symbolic declaration of independence from proprietary software.

"But the big unknown is the one that really matters. Will forcing people to pay for content generate enough revenue to sustain a major journalistic enterprise? The only way to find out is to do the experiment. Rupert Murdoch may be richer or poorer as a result, but we will all be much the wiser."

California: Google, the search giant, is set to acquire software firm ITA, in a move that catapults the company into the heart of the $80 billion (€63.5bn; £52.7bn) online travel business.