Yahoo! Search Direct is a powerful new feature from Yahoo that provides direct access to the answers and sites you need. This feature is similar to the Google’s Instant Search but however this tool will help you to get answers and not just links.

As soon as a user places his cursor in the search box, the drop-down display shows trending search topics. Once the user begins to type, it shows the 10 most likely search terms. If one of those terms involves Yahoo content — movie times, weather, financial information — then a preview of that content appears.  Answers on Search Direct are displayed in a box that drops down from the search box. Hitting the search button or enter displays normal Yahoo search results.

With Search Direct, Yahoo! content is combined with information from the Web to provide rich answers, not just links, and to give people the option to immediately engage or continue to a traditional search results page. In this beta release, coverage includes top trending searches, movies, TV, sports teams and players, weather, local, travel, stocks, and shopping categories now available at search.yahoo.com.

• Trending Searches – The moment the cursor hits the search box, top search trends appear and are updated every 10 minutes to display the latest and greatest search trends.
• Search Previews – Search Direct predicts the search term as you type, providing the 10 most likely searches. You can then easily scan each option to see the related top results and find the best match for your needs.
• Direct Answers – For many common searches, Search Direct provides instant answers before you click the Search button. Find an address or phone number, a three-day weather forecast, financial stock performance, the top trending stories at Yahoo! News, or when and where a movie is playing – all without going to a results page.
• Direct Results – When you scan the search options and find the site you need, Search Direct provides exactly that – direct access to the site. No more overwhelming pages of links.
• Rich Content – For all top searches about sports, top news stories, and finance, Search Direct displays rich content that only the world’s largest digital media company can provide. For example, type “n” to get the Yahoo! News display, which always shows the top two trending stories.

Now the Yahoo! Search Direct is available for public. Get your questions answered at search.yahoo.com. Try it out and let us know how you like it in the comments below.