US portal company, Yahoo! Inc, and Germany’s second-largest telecommunications service provider, Mannesmann Arcor, have teamed up to offer a free online news service to Germany’s more than eight million internet users. Starting in May, users will be able download installation software from Yahoo’s German homepage, http://www.yahoo.de.
Once the service is installed on the users PC, clicking an icon on the desk top will automatically connect the user, via a Mannesmann telephone number, to the online news service. The two companies say that users will pay only the cost of call connection, charged at 14 pfennigs per minute peak times and 10 pfennigs off-peak (roughly $0.06 to $0.08) with no requirement for registration. Charges will appear on the user’s phone bill.
