The new entity formed by Seven Network and Yahoo! Inc, to compete with ninemsn, has today been named Yahoo!7. A new name and corporate identity have been unveiled and the six person board has been appointed with John Marcom, senior vice president, international operations at Yahoo! Inc, announced as chairman.

Mr Marcom joined Yahoo! in 2003 and is responsible for overseeing the company’s business operations outside the United States.  He is based at Yahoo!’s headquarters in Sunnyvale, California.  Joining Marcom on the Yahoo!7 board, which is comprised of three representatives from each side of the new alliance, will be the chairman of Seven’s Pacific Magazines division, Ryan Stokes, Seven’s commercial director, Bruce McWilliam and Rohan Lund, head of the digital media group at Seven. The two additional Yahoo! representatives will be Ira Kurgan, chief business officer for the Yahoo! Media Group based in Hollywood and Pam Thompson, Yahoo!’s regional vice-president of emerging markets.

The new Yahoo!7 homepage has gone live today (www.yahoo7.com.au) and offers users access to a range of content, including new sites for flagship shows such as Sunrise, Lost and Desperate Housewives.

Ryan Stokes, chairman of Seven’s Pacific Magazines division, said: "We are extremely excited to launch Yahoo!7 and integrate the finest entertainment, information and communications experience for Australian internet users.  Today is the start of the journey as we continue to roll out new online initiatives that combine the strengths of Seven and Yahoo!.  Through Yahoo!7 we have a leading platform to engage the online audiences with the best global products and locally relevant media content for their connected lives."

New chairman of Yahoo!7, John Marcom, said: "I’m extremely proud to have been appointed chairman of an organisation that’s already demonstrating it’s heading for a bright future. Yahoo! touches the lives of nearly five million Australians every month with a broad range of unique products and popular services.  By combining this reach and these features with the original content and blockbuster programming of the Seven Network, we can offer our users unique and compelling, entertaining and informative content."