Yahoo auctions off dormant web domain names

Yahoo is selling off more than 100 of its dormant domain names in a week-long auction, a move that could net the internet search firm millions.

The auction was announced in a blog post by Kevin Kramer, deputy general counsel at Yahoo, and follows the discovery of a long list of "premium" domain names the company has owned for some time.

"As we discussed what to do with them, it became obvious that it was time to set them free...back into the wild of the internet. Surely, creative people, businesses and entrepreneurs could come up with something great to do with them. They could even spark some brand new ideas or companies," said Kramer.

Some of the domain names up for grabs include "crackers.com", which boasts a reserve price of between $25,000 and $49,000, while "webserver.com" is being offered with a maximum reserve of $499,000.

The "av.com" domain name currently sports a reserve price of $1 million to $1.49 million, making it one of the most expensive featured in the auction.

For those in the market for something a little cheaper, in the $500 to $999 reserve price bracket are the names "purplepedals.com" and "myfanpages.com".

Yahoo has promised further names will be released during the auction week, which starts today and runs until 21 November.

The move is the latest in a long line of fundraising and cost cutting initiatives Yahoo has embarked under the watchful eye of CEO and president Marissa Meyer, who joined the firm in July 2012.

In that time, Meyer has introduced a ban on remote working for Yahoo employees and has overseen the shutting down of the firm's underperforming or less popular internet services.