Web portal giant Yahoo has further underlined its determination to wrestle a portion of the online advertising market from rival Google, by announcing plans to acquire global ad network provider BlueLithium.

The $300m deal will give Yahoo control over the second largest advertising network in the UK with 145 million unique visitors each month, enabling the firm to meet the needs of its advertisers and publishers better, according to Yahoo.

"This falls very much in line with our strategy," said Yahoo's UK managing director, Glen Drury. "It dramatically extends our reach so advertisers get more bang for their buck and users don't get chased by advertisements across lots of web sites if they are not effective."

In addition, BluLithium offers performance management and analytical technology which Yahoo currently does not have in its portfolio, Drury added. This information could help web sites to match the advertising displayed on them to customers' interests more effectively.

Meanwhile Google got some good news when US retailer American Blinds and Wallpaper Factory (ABWF) dropped its long-running lawsuit against the search giant.

ABWF had challlenged Google's AdWords keyword advertising system, saying it didn't have the right to sell advertising beside search results related to its name.