Yahoo has launched a new version of its widget engine,
the web portal's platform for running mini-desktop
applications.
Along with the release of Yahoo Widget Engine 3.0, the company
has also unveiled nine new widget applications that run on the
platform.
A widget is a small application that can run on a desktop
without the use of a browser. The software is often used to quickly
draw in content from a web service.
Widgets are valuable to portals as they are a more direct route
to services tied to online advertising.
Some of Yahoo’s rivals, including Google, also offer
widgets.
The more efficient free widget engine can now deliver new
applications including a portal mapping service for searching
addresses and road maps, a picture frame for displaying photos from
Yahoo's picture sharing service, an alert service for new messages
in Yahoo e-mail boxes, along with other widgets.
