Google Rolls Out Local Upgrade

Google (GOOG) unveiled improvements to its local search engine Tuesday.

The changes illustrate how Google and other Internet players, among them Yahoo! (YHOO) and Verizon (VZ), are pushing for a greater share of the local advertising dollars that fuel the $14 billion-plus yellow pages industry.

Among other changes to the preliminary version of Google Local (available at local.google.com), the company has added a map to the search results page, and says it has improved comprehensiveness and relevance.

Yahoo!'s Overture Services launched a local extension to its search engine in June, enabling pay-per-click advertisers to reach locally targeted audiences. Yahoo! debuted a preliminary version of its own local search engine, local.yahoo.com, in August.

On Tuesday, Google's shares were up 77 cents to $108.27. Shares in Yahoo!, which on Tuesday announced its planned acquisition of the online music service Musicmatch, rose 74 cents to $32.61.