The website will operate as a marketplace similar to Alibaba's China-based TMall, which offers virtual store fronts to merchants who set their own prices and handle their own logistics for nearly everything but payments, the newspaper reported.

Italy suffered a serious blow ahead of next month's World Cup when midfielder Riccardo Montolivo broke his leg during a warm-up game against Ireland at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Double Olympic champion Mo Farah toiled on his highly-anticipated marathon debut with the Briton trailing in eighth as Kenyans Wilson Kipsang and Edna Kiplagat secured London titles on Sunday.

Andrea Pirlo kept Juventus on course for a home Europa League final after his superb free kick settled their battle with Italian rivals Fiorentina to send the Serie A leaders into the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Inter Milan's Rodrigo Palacio and Mauro Icardi struck in a 2-1 win at Fiorentina on Saturday to secure their struggling side's first away victory in Serie A since early November.

A Ganesh Nadar visits the bustling centre that hosts Tamil Nadu's health helpline that answers more than 100 medical queries an hour.

Prato, which lies 25 km from the Renaissance jewel of Florence, is also a thriving hub of illegality committed by both Italians and Chinese, a byproduct of globalization gone wrong.

With senior diplomat Devyani Khobragade's strip search triggering a major row between India and the United States, the invasive post-arrest procedure is again in the limelight over a year after America's top court ruled in its favour.

Ethiopian Atsedu Tsegay demolished the course record to emerge triumphant in the elite men's category, while Florence Kiplagat led a Kenyan clean sweep in the women's event of the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon in New Delhi.

Giuseppe Rossi continued his remarkable comeback with a 15-minute hat-trick as Fiorentina recovered from two goals down to defeat previously unbeaten title-holders Juventus 4-2 in Serie A on Sunday.

Fiorentina conceded a late goal, had David Pizarro sent off and lost their 100 percent Serie A record in a 1-1 draw at home to Cagliari on Sunday, with an injury to Mario Gomez compounding their frustration.

Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has suggested pricking the ballooning oil bill with everything from a street theatre campaign encouraging lower fuel use, to shutting fuel stations, to increasing imports from Iran.

Why is no government building us a Louvre? Aren't we worth a Tate? Are we so short of funds that we can't support even a few art institutions to fire the minds and imaginations of generations of Indians?

The veteran actor stole the limelight at the film's starry premeire in New York.

In winning the Premier League in his first season with Manchester United, after eight frustrating years with Arsenal, Robin van Persie joined an elite club of players for whom leaving the clubs where they spent a bulk of their careers proved a remarkable switch. Rediff.com takes a look at a few other such examples.

Juventus closed on their 29th Italian title with a 1-0 win over AC Milan thanks to Arturo Vidal's second-half penalty on Sunday.

Maverick forward Mario Balotelli was given a three-match ban on Tuesday for insulting the fourth official at the end of AC Milan's 2-2 draw at Fiorentina at the weekend.

AC Milan's maverick forward Mario Balotelli was caught smoking in the toilet on the train during the team's journey to Florence and will be fined, chief executive Adriano Galliani said on Sunday.

Racist chants against Mario Balotelli made little impact in Italian media on Monday, which focused more on the AC Milan striker's failure to score in his first city derby against his former club Inter.

The 2013 Grammy winners and highlights at a glance.

'I don't think his influence over his company will just suddenly eradicate. I am sure he will be a sort of holy ghost over the whole company.' Zubin Mehta recalls his more than five decade association with Ratan Tata in an exclusive conversation with Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel.

Holders Napoli, already reeling after being deduced two Serie A points for match-fixing, were knocked out of the Italian Cup last 16 after suffering a last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by Bologna on Wednesday.

Could there have been just a hint of that subtle British complex that still sometimes treats former colonial subjects as the chattel they once were, surmises George Abraham

Here's what your favourite Bollywood celebrities are tweeting.

Today, the search giant is celebrating the Irish novelist's 165th birthday with the doodle.

We bring you two exclusive excerpts from Powder Room: The Untold Story of Indian Fashion

A look at the gold medalists on Day 6 of the London Games.

Archaeologists have inched closer to unravelling the secret behind Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile, as they believe to have discovered the skeleton of the model who posed for Da Vinci's masterpiece.

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam has become the latest personality to make foray into social networking site, Facebook, where he will share his thoughts on issues concerning the country's development and his interaction with various sections of people.

Yohan Blake delivered a shock that will be felt all the way to London by exploding past world record holder Usain Bolt to claim a stunning 100 metres victory at the Jamaican Olympic trials on Friday.

The Telugu actor and his new bride have been invited by world-renowned shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo to spend their honeymoon in Florence, Italy.

TripAdvisor announced its list of top travel destinations that were chosen by travellers across the world. Check out what city you must head to before this year draws to a close.

TripAdvisor announced its list of top travel destinations that were chosen by travellers across the world. Check out what city you must head to before this year draws to a close.

Even split seconds could not separate Romain Grosjean and Kamui Kobayashi at the top of the Formula One test timesheets at Italy's Mugello circuit on Wednesday.

Take a look at the world's most stylish celebrities who made it to Glamour Magazine's coveted annual best-dressed list for 2012!

His ageing outfit are fifth in the English Premier League and in danger of missing the Champions League for next term as fans begin to wonder if one stellar year as coach of Porto has given the 34-year-old enough experience to cope at Stamford Bridge.

Ending weeks of speculation, the writer finally broke his silence on his visit to the Jaipur Literature Festival

'Everybody of a certain age wanted to write like Rushdie and so did I but I wouldn't want being hunted around the world. I am sure even Rushdie wouldn't want that life, says Pakistani Writer Mohammed Hanif.

AC Milan went a point clear in Serie A on Saturday after Antonio Nocerino and a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty gave the champions a hard-earned 2-0 win over lowly Siena at the San Siro.

World champions Spain and Italy completed the formalities of qualification for Euro 2012 on Tuesday, Netherlands are as good as through and England are in a commanding position to secure a place in next year's finals.