Alibaba CEO Jack Ma said yesterday that Yahoo Search had partnered with Hunan TV and Huayi Brothers to produce an entertainment program titled "Yahoo Star Search," National Business Daily reports. According to Hunan TV vice-president Fan Xuwen, the venture with Yahoo would be to 2006 what the wildly successful, Mengniu-sponsored Super Girl talent competition was to 2005.This is the latest of Yahoo's attempts to build its search brand after the China unit was taken over by Alibaba. Yahoo had announced in late 2005 that it had earmarked 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million) to produce three television commercials directed by noted directors, and on 4 January, it announced that with its partner Huayi Brothers, it had picked Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, and Zhang Jizhong to shoot 2-3 minute shorts around a Yahoo Search theme. It also snapped up prime-time advertising spots on China Central Television for 80 million yuan.Jack Ma said that Yahoo Search will focus on entertainment in 2006 as a way to attract the interest of the online population.China's search market was valued at 940 million yuan in 2005, and is expected to grow to 5.6 billion yuan by 2007. The market is predicted to maintain an annual growth rate of 70% for the next three years, and China's search companies are competing for a share of this. Sogou recently announced that it was conducting its own star search, in its case for a dog to use as a mascot. The chosen pooch will receive an annual salary of 100,000 yuan.Link: http://www.nbd.com.cn/admin/module/news/newsFile/20061615958.htm