eBay authorizes first outside search service

The saga of eBay's (Nasdaq: EBAY) battle against auction search sites took a new twist Tuesday as the auction giant forged a licensing agreement with Auction Rover. The deal — which makes Auction Rover the first auction search sanctioned by eBay — allows the month-old portal to include eBay auctions in its searches — but only in a separate search from all other auctions, and listed under a specially branded eBay tab. Story to follow. --By Elliot Zaret, MSNBC