AOL Betas Pinpoint Travel Search

Monday, America Online will begin beta testing a new vertical search site called Pinpoint Travel that will be combined with its AOL Search portal when it is completed. The concept behind the site is to create a one-stop destination for members and non-members alike to find "travel deals" from listings of more than 500 airlines and 85,000 hotels worldwide.

Unlike traditional search engines that only return aggregated results, vertical search engines apply filters and specialize in fulfilling specific needs. Pinpoint travel is the latest entry into AOL's stable of vertical search sites including AOL Local Search and SingingFish.com for digital media. Pinpoint Travel is based on technology from Kayak.com, which AOL partnered with late last year.