Yahoo! launches new search service Direct Display Builder

HYDERABAD: Nasdaq-listed internet search engine company Yahoo! Inc today launched Direct Display Builder, a new search service that places information directly into the search results pages.

The DD Builder supports 15 categories of searches including movies and celebrities, Yahoo! Vice-President (Engineering, Search and Marketplaces group) Amit Dayal told reporters here.

"DD Builder currently supports 15 categories, including movies, celebrities, stocks, weather, news, shopping and locals in India. Our idea is to at least double it here, and to 200 in the US pretty soon. You will see a larger set of rich categories to smaller ones," Dayal said.

He said giving direct answers -- not the search results page -- is the primary focus of Yahoo!.

"Search Direct is evidence of Yahoo! continuing to lead innovation in search, enabling people to take action faster, find what is most important, and sample what is possible with the next stage of search technology," he added.

Dayal said Yahoo! had tied up with mobile phones maker Nokia in 2010 for introducing mapping services, which will be launched in the US later this year.

The company's India research and development (R&D) facility at Bangalore would contribute significantly to search engine tools globally in the coming years, he added.

Currently, a major chunk of its 2,000-odd R&D workforce is innovating search engine entirely from India.