LAS VEGAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)—-Today, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2008, Yahoo!  (NASDAQ:YHOO) announced the early preview of its Mobile Developer Platform, a one-stop solution for developers to create mobile-optimized applications that are easy to build, quick to deploy, and run across a wide selection of devices, thus making it much easier for Internet content and services to “go mobile.” By providing developers with tools to write code once and efficiently publish their content instantly across hundreds of devices - accessible by hundreds of millions of users - Yahoo!’s Mobile Developer Platform is expected to usher in a dramatic acceleration in the adoption of mobile services by creating an explosion of new choices for the consumer.

These powerful and graphically rich mobile applications - called Yahoo! Mobile Widgets - enable consumers to design their own ideal Internet experiences, by letting users choose which of their favorite Internet content and services to put on their phone - whether from Yahoo! or any other provider. Consumers will choose Mobile Widgets from a growing selection available via the Yahoo! Widget Gallery - accessible from Yahoo!’s new mobile home page, Yahoo! Go 3.0, and Yahoo! oneSearch, consumers can add and delete mobile widgets anytime to make sure their phone reflects their own unique needs & personality.

This week, consumers will be able to access the first third-party widgets built on this new platform, from launch partners including eBay , MySpace  and MTV. Yahoo! ultimately expects thousands of new mobile widgets to be added as developers begin writing to this new platform.

“Yahoo! is leading and enabling the mobile ecosystem by partnering with some of the most recognized consumer brands, including eBay, MySpace and MTV further extending their mobile presence and providing mobile consumers with the content they desire,” said Marco Boerries, executive vice president, Connected Life, Yahoo!. “By providing all developers access to our Mobile Widget Platform and giving them the necessary tools to create, we are setting the stage for dramatic growth in the number of third party widgets and creating an innovative new experience that we believe will ultimately drive further adoption of mobile services.”

Yahoo! Mobile Widgets run on devices that support the new Yahoo! Go 3.0 client or the new Yahoo! mobile home page (visit http://mobile.yahoo.com/newsroom for announcements). Over the coming months, the number of compatible devices is expected to expand substantially and begin to roll out internationally.

Leading mobile device manufacturers including LG Electronics and Motorola  are collaborating to make Yahoo! Mobile Widgets widely available on multiple devices. ACCESS, a global provider of advanced mobile software technologies, is also in early discussions to support Yahoo!’s Mobile Widget platform. The combined efforts of Yahoo! and these partners is expected to continue to drive the mobile industry forward by making compelling content from the greater Internet more accessible to consumers worldwide.

More details on the Yahoo! Mobile Widget Platform, including first-generation specifications for creating Yahoo! Mobile Widgets can be found at http://mobile.yahoo.com/developers. Over the coming weeks, Yahoo! plans to introduce a full-featured software development kit for developers, offering guidelines and tools for creating, testing and submitting widgets.