After two years in development and no small amount of hype, a working prototype of natural language search engine Powerset has been unveiled.

The search engine, optimistically described as a potential “Google killer” by some tech reporters, isn’t designed to just index words on a website - it claims to understand them too. Read the rest of this entry »

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang has said his company would be open to further discussions should Microsoft decide to return to the negotiating table.

Over the weekend Microsoft withdrew an improved offer worth around $47.5 billion after another rejection from the Yahoo board. Read the rest of this entry »

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain, has announced it will not engage in bidding on keyword trademarks owned by its rivals.

In taking a moral high-ground, Tesco hopes that others in the industry will follow suit and keep PPC costs down.

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Microsoft has put aside $1.5 billion to keep on Yahoo employees should their proposed takeover succeed, reports Reuters.

Yahoo currently employs 13,800 staff after laying off around 1,000 of its workforce in February. Read the rest of this entry »

Google believes a partnership with search rival Yahoo would not pose problems with regulators, according to a source close to the company.

Although any move by Google to purchase Yahoo outright would likely face opposition over competition concerns, a non-exclusive business arrangement remains a distinct possibility. Read the rest of this entry »

Google has been named as the planet’s most powerful brand for the second year running in a recent study.

According to research firm Millward Brown’s “Brandz” report, which ranks the value of the world’s largest brands, Google’s branding is now worth an estimated $86 billion. Read the rest of this entry »

Google has shrugged off the faltering global economy to post higher than expected earnings.

On Thursday the company announced first quarter income has risen over $300 million to $1.31 billion, causing shares to surge 18 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

Yahoo has received a much needed boost with news that its share of the search advertising market rose in the first quarter.

According to figures from SearchIgnite, Yahoo’s share of search spending by sampled advertisers climbed to 23 percent, up from 18 percent previously. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Yahoo takeover saga rumbles on, there are fresh reports of alternatives to a Microsoft takeover being discussed.

Anonymous sources close to the situation say that in addition to the $42 billion Microsoft offer, a Microsoft-News Corp. and a News Corp. only deal are on the negotiating table. Read the rest of this entry »

Online advertising expenditure in the UK hit £2.8 billion in 2007, according to trade body the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Total year on year spend was up 38% from 2006 and the IAB predict that online ad revenues will go on to exceed those of television in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »