Yahoo Adds Traffic Reports To Maps Service

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December 16, 2004 (3:07 PM EST)

By Antone Gonsalves , TechWeb Technology News

Yahoo! Inc. on Thursday said it has added traffic information to its online map service, as a way to make it easier for travelers to check conditions before heading out on the road.

In addition, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company said it launched late Wednesday a beta version of a video search engine for the Web.

Besides the Yahoo! Maps service, the new traffic-report feature has been integrated into Yahoo! Search and Local, the latter service used for finding restaurants, shops and other locations in cities. The traffic service covers more than 70 metropolitan areas in the U.S.

"We're pleased to be the first major mapping site to offer a robust, nationwide traffic service," Paul Levine, general manager of Yahoo!'s local services, said in a statement. "This is an exciting extension of our local strategy and another example of how we can leverage Yahoo!'s content and technology to create a truly differentiated search experience."

With the new service, a user, for example, can get a roadmap of Boston, and then click on a traffic view button to get an overlay of icons that users can click to get speed of traffic, accidents, road construction and other information. The same information is available on maps showing people how to get from one location to another.

Real-time driving speed data is available on only about 20 of the metropolitan areas covered by Yahoo!, the company said. The traffic information, in general, comes mostly from state and local government agencies.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company said it would add enhancements to the service in time. Yahoo! could provide traffic reports through mobile devices, as the company extends its reach beyond the desktop.

The company declined comment on its plans for a mobile service.

"Yahoo! is looking to continue to expand the offering," the spokeswoman said. "In the coming months there will be significant developments and upgrades to the service ... (and) you can imagine having mobile access would be useful to consumers."

Nextel Communications Inc. earlier this week said it plans to offer the Yahoo Mobile Internet service to subscribers of the Nextel wireless network. Those services include e-mail, instant messaging, games and news content.

Last month, SBC Communications Inc. said it had extended its 3-year-old partnership with Yahoo, which will help the carrier in its ambitious plans to integrate entertainment and communications and extend those services beyond the PC to cellular phones and television.

In other Yahoo news, the company late Wednesday launched a beta version of a video search engine at http://next.yahoo.com/. The new tool searches for video content, an area of the web that's increasing dramatically as the Internet becomes a major distribution medium for entertainment.

In addition, the company said independent publishers can upload their content to the Yahoo! Video Search Index via RSS, a new and open content syndication format.