Microsoft has followed the Netscape model of hosting search engine sites through its browser home page, via a deal signed with Yahoo!.

In an attempt to make Web searching easier, Yahoo has become the default provider of Web search information for Internet Explorer (IE) 3.0 users. As part of the Autosearch feature in IE 3.0, if a user types in a misspelled URL or general topic, the browser will default to the Yahoo! Web page that bears the closest content and links to that subject.

As part of the deal, Yahoo! will also distribute a custom-built client version of Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 on its home page.

PCDN Comment: An excellent move for Microsoft: this deal should lock in new users to the IE 3.0 platform and drive traffic on the IE Web site. Yahoo! has always been close to Netscape, but the recent demand for $5 million to place the Yahoo! engine on the Netscape home site seems to have upset the relationship. With Netscape venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins also heavily involved with the Excite engine, it seems that the Microsoft-Netscape battle could extend to search engines.

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