Yahoo to offer customised websites

Yahoo is to boost revenues with a multimillion dollar agreement to offer customised websites to the health care members of employee benefits provider Cigna.

As part of the agreement, Cigna's 16 million health care members will have online access from anywhere through their MyYahoo home page.

The customised websites are generated through the use of personalisation tools from Yahoo's Enterprise Solutions business communications and corporate portal division, and can be customised by employers and personalised for employees.

Cigna chief executive Edward Hanway said in a statement: "We're teaming with Yahoo to help consumers use the full power of the internet to manage two of the most important aspects of life: health and financial security."

Hanway explained that consumers will have instant access to the tools they need to choose a doctor, review claims or order medicines online.

The service is expected to be available to Cigna Retirement & Investment Services plan participants in 2002 and most of Cigna HealthCare's 14.3 million members by the end of 2002.

Yahoo, which has cut jobs and set a strategy to boost revenue that depends less on advertising, also recently announced plans to acquire online job listing service HotJobs.com.

Terry Semel, Yahoo's chief executive, said the company will "acquire where we look to gain a competitive advantage and set partnerships to achieve a strategic business objective.

"This agreement represents another step forward in how internet communications technology can make a big difference in the quality of life of individuals."

At the same time as the announcement, Cigna said it would cut 2,000 jobs as part of a restructuring in its health care business. The company said the cuts are necessary as it consolidates customer service operations into regional centres.