The BBC's Internet news service, BBC News Online, has agreed to provide news to Yahoo! UK & Ireland in its first content deal with an external online news provider, Yahoo! said yesterday.

Yahoo! UK & Ireland said in a statement that BBC News Online would deliver regularly updated news for its Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sport, Yahoo! Finance, My Yahoo! and Yahoo! Messenger sites.

Given the BBC's status as a public service broadcaster, Yahoo! said it would present the BBC service in such a way as to ensure editorial independence. Thus, pages hosting BBC stories will not carry advertising.