yahoo moves into desktop search internet giant yahoo has launched software to allow people to search e-mail and other files on their pcs.  the firm is following in the footsteps of microsoft  google and ask jeeves  which have offered similar services. search has become a lucrative and hotly-contested area of expansion for net firms  looking to extend loyalty beyond the web. with hard drives providing bigger storage  users could need more help to locate important files  such as photos.  the desktop search technology has been licensed from a us-based firm x1 technologies. it is designed to work alongside microsoft s outlook and outlook express e-mail programs. searching e-mail effectively is becoming increasingly important  especially as the amount of spam increases. according to research from message analysts the radicati group  up to 45% of businesses  critical information is stored in e-mail and attachments. yahoo s software can also work separately on the desktop  searching for music  photos and other files. users can search under a variety of criteria  including file name  size  date and time. it doesn t yet incorporate web searching  although yahoo has promised that future versions will allow users to search both web-based and desktop data.  we are all getting more and more files on our desktop but the real commercial opportunity lies with linking this through to web content   said julian smith  an analyst with research firm jupiter.  it is all about extending the idea of search and getting a closer relationship with consumers by organising not just how they search on the internet but the files on your computer as well   he said. search engines are often the first port of call for users when they go onto the web. the new foray into desktop search has rung alarm bells for human rights groups  concerned about the implications to privacy. and not everyone is impressed with the functionality of such services. alexander linden  vice president of emerging technologies at analyst firm gartner downloaded the google product but has since removed it.  it was just not very interesting   he said. he believes the rush to enter the desktop business is just a way of keeping up with rivals.  desktop search is just one of many features people would like but i m suspicious of its usefulness   he said. more useful would be tools that can combine internet  intranet and desktop search alongside improvements to key word searching  he said.