Yahoo! for the Russians

SEATTLE: Internet media company Yahoo Inc. said it would soon roll out a Russian-language version of its free Web-based e-mail service as it targets the growing number of non-English speaking Internet users.

The latest addition to Yahoo Mail's international offerings is due to arrive in the coming weeks, Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo's vice president of communication products, said.

Yahoo Mail plans to further expand with the launch of Eastern European and Southeast Asian languages later this year, he said.

"Catering to these local markets is certainly an important area of growth for us," Garlinghouse said in a phone interview.

Yahoo -- which currently offers free, Web-based e-mail in such languages as English, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean -- said it is the first global brand to offer free, Web-based e-mail to Russian speakers.

Garlinghouse said that 10 million Russians have Internet access. He also said that around 35 million people living outside of Russia speak Russian -- 2 million to 3 million of whom live in the United States.

Yahoo operates the most-visited Web sites in the United States, as well as the most used U.S. free e-mail service, outpacing rival services from Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Internet unit, according to research from comScore Media Metrix.

An MSN spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

© Reuters