Lycos rallies on e-commerce deal

Lycos (LCOS) stock shot up 20 percent today after the search engine company announced a three-year e-commerce partnership with BarnesandNoble.com.

Shares gained 4-7/16 from yesterday's close of 22-1/8. Volume topped the company's all-time high with 2.5 million shares changing hands.

The news comes after competitors Yahoo and Excite already have announced similar marketing pacts with Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble's chief competitor.

Under the alliance, Lycos and BarnesandNoble.com will integrate content and technology throughout their Web sites and promote online book sales. BarnesandNoble.com will become the exclusive bookseller on Lycos. Netizens searching Lycos will be able to find books that match their interest.

The search engine will receive a percentage of the online transactions.

"This is a giant step forward in Lycos's ongoing initiative to grow our e-commerce business," Lycos chief executive Robert Davis said in a statement.

Despite its perceived "Johnny-come-lately" status online, Barnes & Noble is no slouch, some analysts say. The company announced a bookselling deal on America Online's marketplace in January, and the deal with Lycos lets it tap the European market, where the search engine firm is expanding rapidly.