IT specialist Infoserve has completed a deal with internet search engine Yahoo! that could bring hundreds of jobs to the region.

The Darlington firm first announced it was in talks with Yahoo! in March, about a tie-up that could push Infoserve's turnover up six-fold.

This week, the company confirmed it had completed the deal to sell sponsored display links on Yahoo! Local's results pages.

Infoserve's chief executive Steve Barnes said: "I am proud that our company has the opportunity to work with Yahoo! - one of the world's leading search engines.

"Our in-depth knowledge of the SME market will combine perfectly with Yahoo!'s brand strength, credibility and huge visitor numbers."

Infoserve - a hybrid of a local search engine and online business directory - will become the official Yahoo! local advertising sales partner for the UK, and will sell businesses guaranteed position sponsored display links on Yahoo! Local results pages.

Mr Barnes said: "This new initiative will give companies the ability to advertise their own business on a major search engine. They will know in advance where their business will appear on the page, how long it will be featured in that position, that there will be substantial visitor traffic numbers to the site and, most importantly, that this will be at a fixed cost."

Infoserve's broker, WH Ireland, predicted the company's expected turnover of about £4m this year would grow to more than £23m by 2009 on the back of the deal.

Infoserve, which already has plans to triple its workforce of 125 by creating 225 jobs over the next 18 months, is also expected to increase that figure significantly as a result of the tie-up.

Jeff Revoy, vice-president of search and social search at Yahoo! Europe said: "I share Infoserve's enthusiasm about this agreement, which is mutually beneficial for both Yahoo! users and the businesses that advertise with us.

"Yahoo! Local users will benefit from the most relevant, up-to-date and useful information in response to their local search queries.

"In turn, through our partnership with Infoserve, we are confident that Yahoo! Local will provide the perfect platform for businesses to reach customers who are actively looking for the exact product or service they provide."