Yahoo Gives Web Site a Facelift

Tuesday, September 28th 2004, 10:58 am

By: News On 6

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) _ Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. has given its popular Web site a facelift to highlight some of the features that the company has been improving during the past year.

Yahoo.com's new look, expected to debut Tuesday, isn't a radical makeover, although company officials say it represents the most significant cosmetic change at the Internet's most popular destination in two years. The retooling also affects ``MyYahoo'' _ a channel that enables the site's registered users to customize their own package of favorite features.

The most visible changes include the addition of a ``music'' button across the top of the home page and the removal of a button that directed traffic to the company's help wanted site, HotJobs.

Yahoo has been upgrading its music features in response to growing market demand. Earlier this month, Yahoo agreed to buy online jukebox provider Musicmatch Inc. for $160 million in cash.

Yahoo's redesign also includes a new search tab for the site's Web directory and a regularly updated feature that will report on which topics are generating the most search requests.

The company has been heavily promoting the power of its online search engine since it ended a licensing agreement with rival Google Inc. earlier this year and began relying on its own in-house technology.