Yahoo has just announced that it will collaborate with several of its partners in order to bring its Web content to television sets. The company said it would launch widget technology to deliver its content to the entertainment devices in users' living rooms. Yahoo Connected TV will use a Widget Engine to allow users to search for and watch 'cinematic Internet' tailored for TV.

Yahoo will make partners with Intel for a Widget Channel. The two companies also announced a Widget Development Kit this week, available to third-party developers, advertisers and content producers. Furthermore, in the spring, consumer electronics manufacturers such as Samsung or Sony will release Internet-connected TV sets to support Yahoo's Internet content.

As for technical details, it can be said that Yahoo's Widget Engine is based on the Konfabulator widget platform for PCs. Besides Intel, Yahoo's own developers and those from eBay, CBS, Netflix, Amazon and others are involved in this effort.

It's interesting to see if the HDTV manufacturers will release a new remote to better accommodate the vast array of content on the Internet. There should be a whole new type of remote control here that uses cell-phone style touch screens or rolerball pointers. The new Yahoo Connected TV widgets will be downloadable for free when the first connected TVs hit the market.

The Web TV intentions were originally announced by Yahoo last August. Separately, Toshiba also announced  that it would be making TVs featuring the Yahoo online service that do run Intel's CE 3100 processor. Analysts say that, in order to successfully bring the online experience to TV, Yahoo must preserve what people love most about the Internet – openness, choice and personalization – without destroying the viewing experience.