Yahoo! Releases Search Engine, FareChase, for Travel

Yahoo! Inc. has released a travel search engine featuring the best prices from across the internet and travel insights from the Yahoo! community.

Yahoo! believes that the FareChase product a travel search engine will provide travelers with a travel source so that consumers can eliminate the need for multiple online searches, and therefore save time, effort and money.

FareChase leverages products from across the Yahoo! network so that travelers can, for example, type in ''compare Las Vegas hotels'' into Yahoo! Search and see the best hotel prices from the web directly within the search results - then click on those prices to enter Yahoo! FareChase to see Las Vegas hotels plotted on a dynamic satellite/street level Map - and then can read the Las Vegas trips plans of other travelers from Yahoo! Trip Planner.

Jasper Malcolmson, Director of Yahoo! Travel explained, ''This is the first time a search engine for travel pricing and a search engine for travel experiences have come together in a single product. The new Yahoo! FareChase will help people plan better trips with access to the most relevant real-time information.''

The best prices found by Yahoo! FareChase users directly at the top of the search results page:

• Direct links to Y! FareChase real-time search
• Pre-populated search form for a personalized experience (i.e. location/airport)

• Tap into the travel experiences of other travelers
• Get instant access to the top Trip Plans (rated by the travel community) featuring their specific hotel, providing insights into activities and schedules that other travelers have enjoyed in that destination

• Utilize the street view as well as new satellite imagery to see landscape features and neighborhood details from high-resolution satellite imagery
• Get access to a map that focuses on interactivity, ease of use and personalization as well as provides consumers with driving directions, dynamic pan, zoom and re-center technology
• View top local attractions, restaurants, shopping venues and other entertainment options as chosen by the Yahoo! community