Whew, what a week. Among many important news items, Google has just unveiled voice support for Gmail, allowing you to make free calls to landlines and cell phones. Is Google going after Skype’s jugular?

What a week its been for tech news. If you’re looking to kill a few minutes by reading up on what’s new and interesting, check out some of these stories found around the web.

The Internet is running out of unique IP addresses but the average consumer need not worry.

Intel and Youth Science Canada host a Team Canada send-off in Toronto, to wish the 16 high-school students luck as they compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose. Wow, and I thought my foam planets and erupting volcano made for good science fair experiments! Check out tomorrow’s scientists and engineers…

In this ABC News segment, we learn of how 21st century high school students are using YouTube to ask girls out to prom — in creative ways, too. The girls should be flattered, though some might be creeped out. What do you think of using social media to get a date for this “rite of passage”?

Mamma mia, Mario, it’s a gonna be a busy spring. Nintendo on Wednesday showcased upcoming wares from the company and third-party publishers at a media summit held in San Francisco, including the sequel to 2007′s Super Mario Galaxy.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the developers at Visceral Games must be praising Sony’s popular “God of War,” because the just launched “Dante’s Inferno” game looks, plays and feels like the same adventure. If you’re willing to forgive the lack of originality, there’s still a good time to be had in this “Mature”-rated hack-and-slash game.

Flirting + Twitter = Flitter? Yep, FastLife – the world’s largest “speed dating” service for singles – is throwing Valentine’s Day events in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Ottawa on Sat. Feb. 13, and it’s B.Y.O.S. (Bring Your Own Smartphone). Here’s why…

While here at the Intel Extreme Masters pro gaming competition at West Edmonton Mall, I caught up with Robert “Black Panther” Tindale from Team Evil Geniuses (Team EG), who chats with us about what it takes to be a professional gamer. Think you can handle getting paid to compete in games and travel the world?

All those gold coins Mario collects have added up nicely for Nintendo. Guess who just topped the list for the world’s best companies?