Yahoo launches 'deep web' search

Yahoo’s battle to wrestle control of the lucrative search engine market stepped up a gear today when it introduced the internet’s first "deep web" search service.

The service allows users to search subscription-only websites containing content that most search engines cannot usually access. The search service is free, although users must have a subscription to the relevant content-provider if they wish to click through to read the pages they find.

Yahoo is hoping the service, which is still in development but available to use at uk.search.yahoo.com/subscriptions, will be used by professionals looking to find the in-depth content often found on subscription-only websites.

Initial content providers for the service include FT.com, the Wall Street Journal Online, Forrester Research Inc and thestreet.com. Content from Factiva, LexisNexis, and Thomson Gale will be included in the coming weeks.

Salim Mitha, the director of Yahoo Search in the UK, said the additional subscription search service was part of the company’s strategy to become the "only place consumers go for information".

Users of the service can type in search terms and are then presented with matching results from content providers which include MTV, the music video channel, and Reuters, the news agency.