According to the Chinese-language Commercial Times , the additions are designed to bring the full convenience and benefits of the Internet to Taiwanese during the holiday period, which begins Tuesday night. Yam is hoping the services will bolster Internet use during the normally slack Lunar New Year period, when most Taiwan residents have eight or nine days' vacation and visit relatives or travel, a company spokesman said.
Users can also request to have voice updates on traffic conditions sent to their mobile telephones.
On December 19, Yam signed an alliance agreement with U.S.-based search engine Google. At the end of December, the portal laid off 13 of its 220 employees.