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Yahoo acquires Upcoming.org

Yahoo expands its local-search offerings by acquiring social events calendar site Upcoming.org.

Dawn Kawamoto Former Staff writer, CNET News
Dawn Kawamoto covered enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News.
Dawn Kawamoto
Yahoo has acquired social events calendar site Upcoming.org in an effort to expand its local-content offerings.

Upcoming.org, which now operates as a Yahoo company, lets people manage their social calendars, share information about upcoming events like local concerts and festivals, and post events calendars to their own Web sites.

Yahoo revised its local-content offerings in August, adding features such as user reviews and interactive maps. The local-content market is expected to attract $3.4 billion in revenue within the next five years, according to research firm Kelsey Group.

Upcoming.org is a free site that lets people post events they are attending in scores of cities worldwide, from MacWorld in San Francisco to musical performances in New York. People can also comment on events others have attended and can include a continuously updated listing of Upcoming.org events on their own Web sites.

Yahoo plans to keep the social-events calendar site separate, but also plans to eventually use the site's content to enhance Yahoo search capabilities, according to the Associated Press, which first reported the acquisition.

Yahoo, Google and America Online are locked in a fierce battle for people interested in local content, as the companies launch tools for local search, expanded mapping capabilities and local business reviews.