Yahoo, Hallmark to do e-greetings

Furthering its position in the growing online greeting card market, Hallmark Cards has joined forces with Internet guide powerhouse Yahoo (YHOO) to provide Yahoo users with direct access to electronic greetings from the Hallmark Connections Shop.

Under the agreement, individuals sending email through Yahoo Mail or looking up an email address in People Search have the option to click on the Hallmark Electronic Greetings link and browse through a selection of electronic greetings. In addition, users can send animated greetings featuring sound and motion, according to the two companies.

The announcement comes on the heels of a recent study by market research firm ActiveMedia that predicted that holiday email messages will exceed the number of snail-mail holiday greetings by the year 2000.

The study also found that this holiday season marks the first time the Net was among the leading forms of communication between family and friends in the United States.

Meanwhile, Yahoo said it is currently promoting Hallmark's greeting service through an active advertising and promotional campaign on the main Yahoo site, Netscape Guide by Yahoo, and Visa Shopping Guide also by Yahoo.