has a large and growing audience in these markets today, and our acquisition of Maktoob represents the kind of investment were making to cater to the needs of these promising regions.

Yahoo says it will join forces with Maktoobs team to create locally relevant content, sevices, and programming. Still, the company intends to implement the Yahoo formula in the region, with locallybased editorial teams. Yahoo plans on launching Arabic versions of Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Search, and the Yahoo home page, followed by local versions of its News, Sports, and Finance properties.Arabs are vastly underserved by todays Internet offerings, says Nilsson.