BEIJING, Mar. 22 (Xinhuanet)-- Ludicorp Research & Development Ltd. President Stewart Butterfield on Monday confirmed Yahoo has

Ludicorp Research & Development Ltd. President Stewart Butterfield on Monday confirmed Yahoo has agreed to acquire its photo-sharing Web site Flickr.

agreed to acquire its photo-sharing Web site Flickr.

    Yahoo reached a deal to buy Flickr on Friday, and terms of the purchase are not being released, Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens also confirmed. The acquisition is expected to be completed next month.

    Confirmation of this deal comes after weeks of speculation on blogs and humorous responses from Ludicorp executives, who have been bombarded with questions at technology conferences.

    "We're going to grow and change, but we're in it for the long haul, with the same management and same team," wrote Caterina Fake, Ludicorp's vice president of marketing and community, in the Flickr blog posting.

    Flickr, a service that Ludicorp Research & Development Corp. launched in beta a year ago, has gained widespread attention among Web developers and Internet insiders for its community-based approach at organizing and sharing digital images on the Web.

    Last week, Yahoo said its 360 service will combine instant messaging, photo storage and sharing, and Internet radio together. It is currently being tested by employees, and will be made available to Yahoo users by March 29. Enditem

    (Agencies)