Yahoo seems to have something in their hands for a new stage of competition against Google.

"First, Yahoo is expected to dump Google as the primary search technology on its site within a few months, a move that could come around the time Google is preparing a long-awaited initial stock offering. Some marketing firms, which help advertisers manage their online campaigns for search-related ads, say they have been told Yahoo will switch from Google to its own technology as early as the first quarter.

Second, Yahoo wants to combine personalization and Customization features to extend the usefulness of searches. Third, it plans to expand its use of "paid inclusion," whereby it frequently surveys a participating merchant's sites for the most up-to-date information and includes those findings in users' search results. Merchants pay Yahoo from 15 cents to more than $1 when visitors click on a link for that merchant. "