Yahoo! acquired Arab online community Maktoob.com, and the two companies said they will combine efforts to offer Arabic-specific information and Arabic versions of Yahoo! Messenger and Yahoo! Mail, CNET reported.

Maktoob.com has more than 16.5 million users in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and it claims that it reaches one-third of online people in the Arab world.

The two companies said they expect the transaction to be completed in the fourth quarter, after which Maktoob.com will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Yahoo!. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, according to CNET.

Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz said in a statement:

Access to information and communications tools can positively impact people's lives in many ways and, with the acquisition of Maktoob.com and our investment in the region, the Arab world will soon get a Yahoo! experience in Arabic with relevant local language content, programming and services.

Maktoob.com general manager Ahmed Nassef added:

Internet users in the Arab world will have access to Yahoo!'s vast content portfolio, as well as world-class communications products, which will be available in Arabic for the first time. In addition, advertisers will be able to leverage the vast reach of the newly combined audiences to effectively market to consumers across the region.