AltaVista has ruled out any possibility that it may try to re-enter the unmetered internet space, following the embarrassing no-show of its planned service in August.

The company, which announced plans to offer UK consumers unmetered access for a flat fee in March, said it had put the service "on hold" after admitting it did not exist.

Now AltaVista, under a new managing director in the UK, Stephanie Himoff, has squashed any suggestions that it may try to relaunch the service. It said it will instead focus its attention on rebuilding itself as a comprehensive search platform.

Speaking to vnunet.com, Himoff said: "We have definitely abandoned any plans to launch an unmetered internet service. AltaVista is going back to its roots and will become the search engine of choice for internet users."

Himoff was appointed managing director following Andy Mitchell's resignation at the end of August. Mitchell's departure was said to be inevitable after he admitted making mistakes in the embarrassing failure of AltaVista's unmetered service.

According to Himoff, AltaVista will now concentrate on improving the site's "functionality and effectiveness". It plans to build its business-to-business activities and will license its search technology to corporate customers.

"We will be looking to leverage all new technologies such as WML [Wireless Markup Language], and will invest time and resources into becoming a specialised search engine," said Himoff. "We are investing in vertical market engines, and are working with other media companies to build up databases and archiving."

Last Thursday, AltaVista chief executive Rod Schrock resigned, just months before the company's target date for an initial public offering.