Don’t happen to live anywhere near London but want to shop at Harrods, anyway? Well, it appears that you are in luck. Well, at least your avatar is.

Fashion-centric social network Stardoll has partnered with the famed 178-year old, five-acre department store to sell virtual copies of some of its children's wear to the avatars within the game, Brand Republic reports. The virtual Harrods store features digital replicas of designs by Harrods' real-world kids' clothing partners, including Chloe, Junior Gaultier and Rykiel Enfant.Continue reading...

Remember the UK's swinging Cool Britannia nation branding effort under Prime Minister Tony Blair? Now Mulberry is looking to revive pride in all things British with its just-launched Brilliant Britain Guide. 

Sub-titled "a guide to a truly great nation," it's a branded content marketing move to continue the celebratory year that 2012 represents for the United Kingdom, from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee to a successful Olympics and Paralympics (despite Mitt Romney’s concerns). Could there be a better year to be a Brit?Continue reading...

Apple plans smaller iPad to compete with Google Nexus, as Nokia gets touchy too.

Getty Images bidding nears $4 billion.

Barclays ex-CEO Diamond faces UK MP grilling as Bank of England faces tough decision.

Asian tourists flock to Europe for luxury bargains.

Asus aims to help athletes "find their zen."

Branded content shown to have limited impact in US.

China bans shark fin consumption in luxury crackdown, as mainland slowdown affects Hong Kong luxury spending.Continue reading...

Disney recently held its first National Princess Week in the U.S. with Julie Andrews and Target as the co-sponsor, and it's gearing up for its next generation of princess in the new girl-power Pixar movie that opens on June 18th: Brave, the story of "the heroic journey of Merida (voice of Kelly Macdonald), a skilled archer and headstrong daughter of King Fergus (voice of Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (voice of Emma Thompson)."

And despite the recent resignation of the creator of the Disney Princess product line and critics such as author Peggy Orenstein (her book's title says it all: "Cinderella Ate My Daughter") of the view of womanhood that Disney Princess represents, the female dream team at Disney is bigger than ever overseas. With that in mind, all young Disney Princess lovers, start begging your parents to play a holiday trip to London — Harrods has announced a partnership with Disney that will have the princesses dominating the store’s windows when the Christmas holiday season hits.

Of course, the princesses won’t be wearing any old get-ups. They’ll be outfitted in dresses created by such designers as Oscar de la Renta, Versace, and Elie Saab, according to a press release from Harrods.Continue reading...

Best Buy, JPMorgan, Yahoo CEO stumbles put ethics and mismanagement in the spotlight. JPMorgan closes ranks around embattled CEO Jamie Dimon as mega-loss is probed; and Yahoo's interim CEO Ross Levinsohn reportedly close to getting role permanently.

Amazon reportedly prepping front-lit Kindle for July.

Facebook eyes historic $12 billion to $15 billion IPO windfall and up to $104 billion valuation.

Activision Blizzard goes back to the future for new games.

Apple plans iCloud upgrade, and thinner laptops with Intel chips.

Baidu enters China's crowded low-cost smartphone market.

BMW touts "ultimate service" in new campaign.

Budweiser strikes deal with Jay-Z for annual concert.Continue reading...

Airbnb fetches $1 billion initial value.

Bentley ponders adding SUV.

Borders sees talks to save a few dozen stores fail.

Credit Suisse eyes layoffs.

EA Sports taps into college-football devotion.

Ford reports profit dip due to cost pressures.

GE moves its x-ray headquarters to China.Continue reading...

Brands in the news:

Apple greets “phenomenal” second-quarter sales results, including 3 million-plus iPads sold.

Burger King ad gets rapped in the U.K. for overstating burger size.

Denny’s turns to new CMO for brand revival.

EA Sports counts on regional spice in new NCAA Football game campaign.

Fiat reorganizes to accommodate Chrysler takeover.

Genentech receives FDA rebuke on popular cancer drug Avastin.

Jennifer Aniston launches her first fragrance exclusively at Harrods today.

Johnson & Johnson gets hit with a federal subpoena over possible contamination of over-the-counter brands.Continue reading...

Ruff love: Pedigree's UK adoption drive campaign includes a video (above) that will reveal pt. 2 of abandoned dog's story after 25,000 views. (Click, save Charlie!) More brands in the news this morning:

Pass the buck (and beach ball): Gulf oil spill hearing in Washington awash in finger-pointing, as BP pays $200,000 for BP-free ad campaign to lure tourists back to the Gulf. (Tell us: how will the Gulf oil disaster affect green marketing? Post a comment here.)

Move over, iPad ... What's up? Docs: Verizon Wireless is working on a tablet with Google ... which touted Google Docs to businesses ahead of Microsoft's Office 2010 launch today.

GM can't quit GMAC: General Motors wants to get back into auto financing, a source tells AP.

That's cold: Dunkin' Donuts fans who missed out on free iced coffees yesterday moaned on Facebook and Twitter. Continue reading...