Yahoo today announced Search Pad beta, a Yahoo Search feature that lets people capture, organize, save and share information they find while researching online. Search Pad can be considered as Yahoo's answer to Microsoft's Bing search engine. Search Pad is aimed at people conducting extensive research in categories such as academic, health, jobs, travel, or shopping, Yahoo said.

Search Pad simplifies serching by automatically recognizing when people are conducting research, and allowing them to capture information and websites found in their search results. Once activated, Search Pad automatically saves recent items, including links in one integrated notepad that stays with them as they search. People can edit their notes and then print, save, email, or share their Search Pad documents with family, friends, colleagues or anyone else, eliminating the need for others to do the same research.

Available only on Yahoo! Search, Search Pad has a host of features:

- Automatic Research Detection: Understands research intent to initiate note-taking;

- Simple Collecting: Tightly integrated into the search experience; once research begins, it automatically collects visited websites and thumbnails;

- Organize: Easily manages research into a coherent document for quick reference with capabilities that include free form note entry, drag & drop, auto-attribution of the URL for pasted notes, and save/delete of notes and documents;

- Share: Provides simple ways to share work with friends and colleagues via print, email, publish, and a number of social networks.

The new Yahoo! Search Pad feature will be rolling out today by searching at Yahoo.com in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina.