Yahoo! set to launch podcast search service

Yahoo! is shortly expected to launch a podcast service that offers access to much of the streaming audio on the web and features user reviews and other information about the programming.

Yahoo! Podcasting is intended to allow people to easily search podcasts through keyword, categories or tagging, which is user-generated topic coding. The beta site will also highlight podcasts of note, those that are particularly popular and user recommendations and ratings, said Geoff Ralston, Yahoo!'s chief product officer.

Searchers can listen to or subscribe to RSS (really simple syndication) feeds for individual shows or episodes of programming or entire series, he said.

Users who listen to a podcast through the Yahoo! site can increase the playback speed to hear the audio at up to two times the actual speed, without the voices sounding like chipmunks.

Eventually, Yahoo! will offer tools that will allow people to create their own podcasts, Ralston said.

AOL and Blinkx also offer podcast search services.

Elinor Mills writes for CNET News.com