Yahoo Inc is seeing a rapid transition by customers to its highly anticipated Web search advertising system meant to compete with rival Google Inc, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Chairman and CEO Terry Semel said the Internet media giant is prepared to begin the commercial introduction of the new advertising system on February 5, or about a month earlier than many Wall Street analysts had anticipated.

"I'm happy to report that we have successfully transitioned the large majority of our revenue to the new search system known as Project Panama," Semel told investors during a conference call, referring to major US advertisers.

Semel said existing search ad customers would be converted to the new ad system by the end of the first quarter, leading to revenue improvements from the second quarter forward.

International advertising customers will gain access to the system beginning in the second quarter, he reaffirmed.

Courtesy : expressindia.com

Google Inc said on Monday it would expand testing of its much-anticipated video advertising system by working with two major music labels to embed video ads on Web sites that make money running them.

Google said it would distribute advertising alongside videos from Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group over its AdSense online ad system to Web site publishers in a four-week test now underway.

"Over the past few months, we have run tests to figure out how we work with our partners and advertisers to combine high quality video content with ads and then distribute them (over) the Google AdSense network," Google said in statement.

The test with the two music labels follows an earlier public trial of Google's video advertising system with Viacom's MTV Networks, which provided music videos to run on a select number of Web sites running Google ads.

As part of the test, advertisements would be billed on a cost per thousand impressions (CPM) model, the traditional billing method for mass market advertising as opposed to the pay-per-click billing model Google popularized with text ads.

Google has been pushing ahead in recent months to expand beyond its hugely successful text-advertising system into new advertising formats including video, radio and mobile phones.

As a example, Warner Music has defined multiple video channels along themes like "rock music" or featuring the "Divas of Pop Music." A Web site owner can select a video channel and embed it on a section of the site dedicated to running Google AdSense ads. Visitors then can click to watch ad-supported videos within the video channel on sites running the ads.

The Google advertising system splits the resulting revenue three ways to the video content owner, the Web site publisher and Google. The exact revenue splits were not disclosed.

Mountain View, California-based Google said in a statement on its AdSense customer blog that only a limited number of Web site publishers had been asked to participate.

"Over the next few weeks we'll be testing AdSense video distribution and sponsorship with a small group of publishers," AdSense product manager Christian Oestlien said in his blog post.

Sony BMG is a joint venture of Japan's Sony Corp and Germany's Bertelsmann.

Courtesy : expressindia.com

Never had an invitation to a glamorous fashion show?
Fans of Giorgio Armani did not have to fret about tickets for his summer collection on Wednesday as the Italian designer broadcast his haute couture show live on the Internet.
Hollywood actresses Cate Blanchett and Katie Holmes watched on from the frontrow in a Paris art museum, while Armani fans across the world could tune in as the 72-year old designer paraded out girls in shiny trousers and sparkling dresses.
"Couture is rooted in fashion history," Armani said.

Courtesy : expressindia.com