Search Engines

Just before Google Inc. went public nearly three years ago, Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Terry Semel assured a roomful of securities analysts and money managers that his company would remain the Internet's brightest star. Google has so thoroughly eclipsed its rival since then that a growing contingent of Yahoo shareholders believes the company would be better off without Semel, who could face a chorus of discontent when he takes the stage at Yahoo's annual shareholders meeting Tuesday.

Google Inc. cut the time it keeps the personal search records of its users, an effort to quell privacy concerns raised by European regulators. The owner of the most popular Internet search engine will retain the records for 18 months, down from 18 to 24 months. Google described the new policy in a post on its website written by Peter Fleischer, chief privacy lawyer for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company.

Google Inc., the world's most popular search engine, is creating a service to let mobile phone users find and buy items such as ring tones, a person with knowledge of the project said. Consumers will be able to obtain lists of companies that provide the content they want and links to where the products can be purchased, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous because the work is confidential. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google and competitors such as Yahoo Inc.

Hopping on the privacy-protection bandwagon, Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are limiting how long their Internet search engines retain potentially sensitive data about their users. With the safeguards confirmed Monday by Microsoft and Yahoo, all of the Internet's largest search engines have changed the way they handle the personal information collected about the millions of people who use their free services each day.

Is Google Inc. losing its edge? The search engine juggernaut was overtaken for the first time by rival Yahoo Inc. in a University of Michigan customer satisfaction survey scheduled for release today. Consumers gave Google a score of 78 out of a possible 100 points, down three points from last year. It was the first time Google slipped below 80 points since 2002, when the company was added to the survey. Meanwhile, Yahoo gained three points to 79 to secure the top spot. Ask.

A home decor merchant has dropped a federal lawsuit attacking Google Inc.'s practice of connecting some online ads to trademarks, handing the Internet search leader its latest legal victory on the prickly issue. American Blind & Wallpaper Factory Inc. agreed to abandon the nearly 4-year-old case without receiving any payment from Google, according to a settlement dated Aug. 31.

san francisco -- Yahoo Inc. has spent almost four years trying to catch up to Google Inc. in Web-search technology. Today it's trying to jump ahead. Yahoo plans to unveil a revamped search engine that it says delivers faster, more relevant and engaging results than market leader Google, which handles more than half of the Web's search requests. Sunnyvale, Calif.

Around the world, Internet users are conducting about 1.4 million searches every minute -- most of them through Google Inc., a ComScore study estimates. Yet Baidu.com Inc. is strong enough in China and NHN Corp. in South Korea to crack the global top five in ComScore Inc.'s inaugural report on worldwide search patterns. The report, based on August traffic patterns, was released last week. In the past, ComScore reported search numbers for only a few countries.

Microsoft Corp., lagging behind Google Inc. in Internet search, introduced a new version of its search engine for Windows-based mobile phones that enables customers to find listings using their voice. Live Search Mobile, which users have to download to their handsets, displays listings and driving directions on maps, Microsoft said Monday. The company will also offer free 411 directory assistance from any phone.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday reaffirmed its earlier support for the socially redeeming value of searching the Internet for nudie pictures. The San Francisco court, in reviewing a case it initially considered in May, reiterated its finding that Google could display tiny versions of photographs by Perfect 10 Inc., a Beverly Hills-based adult publisher, in search results, even when those images were copyrighted.