One Internet search executive, who asked to remain anonymous, said Yahoo-owned Overture Services, too, has been bidding for business in the desktop search arena -- with Internet service providers, including EarthLink.
EarthLink would not comment on specific talks, but Mecredy said it has spoken to all the major technology players about partnerships for a desktop search application and/or a toolbar plug-in for search. The ISP already offers subscribers a toolbar for blocking annoying pop-up advertisements, but it does not yet include search.
For Overture, regaining EarthLink as a search partner in desktop or toolbar technology would probably be a strategic win. The company lost a deal to provide commercial search results to EarthLink in 2002, when it was usurped by Google and its growing commercial search network.
EarthLink said it is "keenly aware" of what Google is doing in desktop search and toolbar applications because of its partnership with the company for algorithmic and paid search. But the company has not yet decided whether it will partner with a third party or develop software on its own.
Overture spokeswoman Dina Freeman described deskbars and toolbars as "an area of the industry that everyone is looking into," but the company has not announced a product.
Search is everywhere
Yahoo, which bought Overture last year for about $1.7bn, has already demonstrated its commitment to expanding search in other areas. Yahoo chief executive Terry Semel last week said that the company has "only just begun" its grand plans to grow its Web search business, earmarking 2004 as a year when search will become omnipresent throughout its family of sites.
Yahoo has already incorporated search into its Instant Messenger application. Using Yahoo IM, people can hold a conversation while searching for information on movies or weather in the same chat box.
Groxis, a technology start-up that uses graphics to display Web search results, is a viable partner for many of the ISPs or Web portals for desktop search. Groxis sells search software that sits on the desktop; it simultaneously queries the databases of six search engines -- including Yahoo, MSN and Teoma -- and visually organises the information into categories so that users can pinpoint what they're looking for.
RJ Pittman, chief executive of Groxis, said the company has received inquiries from the major search players about its software. Groxis is also exploring the development of a version of its desktop search application that can be branded by third parties, Pittman said. So, ultimately, companies such as Yahoo or Citysearch.com could license the desktop tool to search their network of sites within one piece of software on the desktop.
"It's a great opportunity for ISPs, and they're all looking for competitive-edge features that will help them stand out," Pittman said.
