CARLSBAD, USA: Yahoo Inc CEO Carol Bartz said the company continues to talk with Microsoft Corp about an Internet search deal, but stressed that search remains an important ingredient in Yahoo's array of online products.

Speaking at the All Things Digital conference on Wednesday, Bartz said that any deal combining its search efforts with another company would have to meet a specific set of criteria for Yahoo.

"There's two parties in all this. The other party has to have a boatload of money and the right technology and give us the right data and so forth. It's that simple," Bartz said at the conference, taking place near San Diego.

Asked if the talks between Yahoo and Microsoft about an Internet search deal continue, Bartz replied "a little bit."

Yahoo is the No. 2 Internet search engine in the United States with 20.4 percent market share in April. Google Inc dominates the market with 64.2 percent share, according to comScore.

Microsoft, the No. 3 player in the U.S. Internet search market, is expected to provide details about improvements to its search engine at the conference on Thursday when CEO Steve Ballmer takes the stage.