This week Google's on-line video sharing website YouTube launches its own awards ceremony. The site will present the best user-generated videos posted during 2006 in seven categories. The starting point is Monday and users will end voting on Friday. Winners will get their trophies on March 26.

The categories that YouTube is going to present include: most creative or inspirational video, best series, as well as music video or commentary and best comedy. The last category, number seven, is called "most adorable video ever" and it is to continue the tradition of videos starring cats and dogs while asleep.

Those that are nominated are able to promote themselves on YouTube during the following five days. These users are also able to plead for votes.

The $1.65 million Google's acquisition gathered a huge number of fans. According to Jamie Byrne, head of YouTube product marketing, 2006 was a pioneering year for sites that rely on user's content.

However, companies like Viacom, think that one category is missing and that is "Best Professionally Produced Copyrighted Video." Last week Viacom sued Google together with its YouTube for more than $1 billion. The lawsuit states that the ever increasing popularity of YouTube is due to a massive upload of copyrighted videos like "The Colbert Report" and "South Park".

[Article available under the terms of the Creative Commons 2. 5 License (Wikinews.org)]