Yahoo is about to make a radical change to its home page — mostly trying to make it a more personal experience. It begins testing the page, on a small basis, today, Reuters reports.

For any of you out there who get a chance to play around with it, let us know what you think.

For the moment, here’s what were looking at…

The new home page relies on slick personalization technology that allows users who have signed into their Yahoo account to see when new information arrives not just on Yahoo sites, like e-mail or news, but off-Yahoo on sites such as eBay Inc’s auctions or Google Inc’s Gmail service.

Instead of whisking people to these sites, users can see a preview of the information while staying on the home page, which allows them to quickly navigate across a range of their favorite sites.

Why is Yahoo tinkering with the site? Well, let’s remember that this is a company locked in a battle for Internet popularity with Google (who it also has an ad deal with — see below). And shareholders have been grumbling ever since a potential merger with Microsoft fell through, The Wall Street Journal points out.

Caroline Dangson, a research analyst who covers new media and entertainment for IDC who was briefed on the new design, says the new look is appealing but by itself likely isn’t enough to help Yahoo leapfrog its competitors. “I don’t think the physical look is going to change things,” she said.

Keep an eye on:

• Microsoft is preparing to pull its TV ads featuring comedian Jerry Seinfeld and Microsoft’s co-founder and chairman Bill Gates. (LA Times)
• Google plans to move ahead with Yahoo in implementing its advertising search deal and believes that rival Microsoft is behind plans to derail the deal. (Reuters)
• Advertisers are moving forward with deals they signed last spring for billions of dollars in television commercial time, and remain willing to pay top dollar for additional spots, two top media executives said. (Reuters)
• CNBC has drawn its highest audiences since the 2001 terror attacks with its coverage of the Wall Street crises this week. (WSJ.com)

(Photo: Reuters)