LookSmart licenses search to Lycos

LookSmart on Wednesday said it entered into a multiyear pact with international portal Terra Lycos, a deal that gives the Web search company's paid listings greater exposure on the Net. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, LookSmart will provide its paid directory listings to Lycos, the U.S. unit of Terra Lycos. Also, Lycos will be able to sell to its advertisers placement in LookSmart's commercial listing program.

Lycos has commercial search relationships with pay-for-placement company Overture Services and algorithmic Web search service Fast Search & Transfer, which is owned by Overture and powers noncommercial results. LookSmart's commercial listings will displace Fast's results for many top-product and services queries.