Yahoo starts lab to improve services
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Yahoo is attempting to create new Web search methods.
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SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Yahoo! Inc. is setting out to prove its recently acquired Overture Services division can deliver innovation as well as advertisements.
Inspired by Overture's past work, Yahoo has formed a research lab that will focus on ways to improve online search, e-mail, instant messaging and other features offered by the Web portal.
The lab represents new territory for Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo as it approaches its 10-year anniversary in April.
The move also served as a reminder that Overture -- acquired by Yahoo in October for $1.8 billion -- offers other assets besides a highly profitable index that distributes text-based advertisements tied to the requests entered into online search engines.
Overture's former chief scientist, Gary William Flake, will run Yahoo's new research lab, overseeing about 24 workers.
One of his major goals is to leverage the falling price of computing power to develop more intelligent search engines.
Flake believes search engines can be taught to know whether a person seeking information on "jaguar" is more interested in the car, the Jacksonville, Florida, football team or Apple Computer Inc.'s operating system.
"All the major players in search are pretty much running neck and neck today," Flake said. "But in three to five years you will see Web search that is dramatically different."
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