REDMOND, Wash. - When Microsoft Corp. entered the Internet browser war in the 1990s, Netscape Navigator was the early leader and Microsoft's Internet Explorer the late-blooming upstart. Now, Microsoft is gearing up for a similar battle in search technology. Chief executive Steve Ballmer conceded Thursday that one big misstep by Microsoft over the past few years is that the company did not put resources toward in-house research and development of search technology.

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Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - News), a leading global Internet company, today announced that it has created a more comprehensive and relevant search experience for users through the deployment of its own algorithmic search technology on Yahoo! Search (www.yahoo.com). Starting today, the company will begin rolling out the new Yahoo! Search Technology (YST) and expects to continue the process on a worldwide basis over the next several weeks. With the completion of the deployment, Yahoo! Search Technology will power nearly half of all online searches in the U.S.

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SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Google Inc., which dominates the market for Web search, is developing a service that could dramatically extend the reach of its lucrative keyword-based advertising by linking such ads to e-mail, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

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Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) (NasdaqNM:YHOO - News) once was the unquestioned first choice for help in navigating the Internet. Then it lost that distinction to Google Inc.'s powerful search technology. Now, Yahoo is plotting to recapture the hearts and mice of Web users with a three-pronged assault on Google's dominance, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

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