Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) are supposed to be friends. The portal company is even thinking of using the search company's technology to sell ads and make more money.

But, friends can be rivals. Maybe.

Yahoo! is launching a "free tool that will allow developers to build customized search services based on its own search technology," according to The Wall Street Journal. The program should bring in new developers and even convince smaller search companies to build on the back of the Yahoo! search system.

All of this may help Yahoo!'s search functions to get better, but it could alienate Google, which may be Yahoo!'s most important ally. One of the portal company's best options in staying out of the hands of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is to outsource much of its search-based advertising to Google, which has a system that yields better revenue. By some estimates this could eventually increase Yahoo! profits by several hundred million dollars a year.

Yahoo! runs the risk of causing a rift with Google. But, who cares? Carl Icahn will probably be running Yahoo! soon and plans to sell it as fast as possible. A new search strategy is not going to help Yahoo! with that.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Yahoo! goes after Google with new search tool originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.