CALIFORNIA: Fox Entertainment Group and Internet company Yahoo! have announced that they will extend their online promotional relationship with Fox Filmed Entertainment and will include new initiatives for the Fox Broadcasting Company and the FX basic cable network.

An official release states that the new agreements broaden Fox's advertising commitment to Yahoo! and reflect the increasing importance of the Web to consumers in making entertainment decisions. Several returning Fox television series are slated for promotion on Yahoo! including the Emmy-nominated The Bernie Mac Show and 24 in addition to new 2002-2003 season series including "Fastlane" Firefly (from Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and John Doe (from Mimi Leder, director of ER).

Fox cable promotions on Yahoo! will include the Emmy-nominated, FX series The Shield and The Pentagon Papers. The studio and Yahoo! are slated to promote several film releases including Daredevil, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Solaris which sees George Clooney reunite with director Steven Soderbergh, and X-Men 2.

Yahoo!, the top entertainment destination on the Web according to Media Metrix, will now run promotions for Fox films and series throughout its various properties. Fox and FX will provide Yahoo! with exclusive video material from the above-mentioned series and films.

The release states that because an increasing number of people are basing their movie going decisions on information supplied online, unique and innovative marketing programmes on the Internet have come to play an important role in Fox's overall campaigns.