Yahoo inks fast deal with AltaVista

To speed up its popular Internet search service, Yahoo has signed a deal with Digital Equipment to use the company's AltaVista search engine.

Yahoo will make AltaVista its preferred search engine but will retain the current look and feel of its service.

Digital is seeking to derive revenue from licensing deals for AltaVista, which has so far been a free service without advertising.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Yahoo officials said both companies will share revenue derived from targeted advertising based on AltaVista searches.