Lycos Inc. and Quack.com, a
a developer of voice-based delivery of Web content, Monday announced plans to create a new
voice-enabled destination that delivers the content and services of a major
Internet portal.
The new voice portal will provide telephone users with access to Internet
content via a toll-free number. Through speech-recognition technology, users
will be able to have their e-mail read to them, check stock
prices, hear the weather, obtain movie listings
and access most information that is available through the Web.
The service will be powered by Quack.com’s voice-to-Internet technology
that guides users to information from the Lycos network of Web sites. Users will be
able to develop a customized Web
site using the My Lycos personalization platform. Personalization features,
such as calendaring, contact lists, sports, stock
portfolios, traffic and lottery information, will be accessible. The portal
is expected to launch in the third quarter of this year.
The innovation will bring many groups to the Web that have had very
limited access till now, according to Ron Sege, executive vice president
of Lycos. “This voice portal will revolutionize access to all the great
content of
the Lycos Network and from across the Web, anytime anywhere,” he said.
The announcement comes on the heels of a major development for Lycos. On
May 16 the company entered into a definitive agreement with Terra Networks, S.A. , a
global Internet company and a leading provider of Internet access and interactive
content and services to the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world, under which Terra will acquire Lycos for $12.5 billion in stock.
