Yahoo has provided an update on the planned search alliance with Microsoft due out later this year. The company says the goal is still to have the transition in the U.S. and Canada complete before the start of the 2010 holiday season.

Yahoo says that in late summer, it will offer a window of several weeks in which advertisers can choose a time to initiate and complete their own transition.

"Fact is, it isn’t necessary to open a new adCenter account right now," Yahoo says. If you don’t already have an adCenter account, you will be able to move your Yahoo! account over in a few months when the account transition tool becomes available, and doing it this way can retain many of your account settings and structure."

"However, we realize that some advertisers may want to start becoming familiar with the adCenter platform before account transitions begin; and if that’s the case, you’re free to open an adCenter account at any time—just continue to manage your Yahoo! account as usual, as you’ll continue to receive Yahoo! network traffic, until and during the transition period," the company adds.

There wasn’t a lot in the way of news in the update, but the company did mention a couple things that are important to remember:

– For now, you still need your Yahoo account, so that you can continue to receive Yahoo traffic until the transition is complete.

– Any remaining balance in your Yahoo account can be transferred to a Microsoft adCenter account.

Yahoo says again that it will provide more specifics on the actual transition timing over the next few months. Remember Yahoo has a Transition Center that you can check out every once in a while for updates.