[HolyGeek] Reuters.com - Britain Cracks Down on Paid Web Search Results - Wed June 16, 2004 08:20 AM ET

[know_mystery]

Title: Reuters News Article

know mystery ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) has sent you this article.  Britain Cracks Down on Paid Web Search Results Wed June 16, 2004 08:20 AM ET LONDON (Reuters) - British regulators have asked an Internet service provider to make clearer that some of its Web search results are paid advertisements, saying pay-for-placement listings from search provider Overture could confuse consumers. The British ISP Wanadoo, a unit of its namesake French parent company, displays a light-gray hyperlink against a white background to explain that search results from Overture are ranked according to the highest bidder instead of by relevance. Users searching for "Harry Potter," for example, see six Overture results from sites including eBay and Toys R Us before the official sites for the Harry Potter movies and books. Overture is owned by Internet powerhouse Yahoo. The UK's Advertising Services Authority ruled that "because sponsored links were not clearly identified by a headline or title ... consumers could be misled." It asked the ISP "to ensure that sponsored links were clearly identified in future." Paid search listings have become a valuable source of revenue for Internet companies. They are also a battleground in the fierce rivalry between Yahoo and the popular Internet search engine Google, which does not accept fees for its primary search results but displays ads adjacent to its listings. A spokesman for Wanadoo said: "We're looking at the ASA report with some interest," and declined further comment. The ASA has no powers to compel advertisers to comply with its rulings, but it can pass on cases to the UK's Office of Fair Trading. The Wanadoo ISP in the UK was previously called Freeserve but changed its name in April to conform with its French parent, which is a unit of France Telecom. This service is not intended to encourage spam. The details provided by your colleague have been used for the sole purpose of facilitating this email communication and have not been retained by Reuters. Your personal details have not been added to any database or mailing list. If you would like to receive news articles delivered to your email address, please subscribe at www.reuters.com. � Copyright Reuters 2004. All rights reserved. Any copying, re-publication or re-distribution of Reuters content or of any content used on this site, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent of Reuters. Quotes and other data are provided for your personal information only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Reuters, the members of its Group and its data providers shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the quotes or other data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. � Reuters 2004. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world. Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ADVERTISEMENT Yahoo! Groups Links To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HolyGeek/   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.