The company has launched a of the tool this week, which indexes emails, documents, music, images, video and more, to make it easier for users to find information stored on their computers.
Google has already launched a desktop search as an extension of its brand, as has MSN, but there are also standalone players such as Blinkx in the market.
Yahoo says that the desktop search, developed along with X1 Technologies, is one of many planned product releases to improve searches.
Jeff Weiner, senior vice-president of Yahoo! Search & Marketplace, said: "We believe that searching the desktop is an important part of the broader search experience and will serve as the platform to provide unique, search-enabled applications that span the user's hard drive, the Yahoo! network and the web."
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