[UPDATED] As many of you know, Yahoo! acquired the excellent and popular photo sharing site Flickr some time ago.  Many people have been speculating what would become of their own photo site, Yahoo! Photos.  Today Yahoo! answered that question as they launched the beta of the new Yahoo! Photos which adds many of the best features of Flickr to the service plus some unique ones of its own.

Don’t worry though; Flickr is not going away.  From what I understand, Yahoo! will continue to run both Yahoo! Photos and Flickr as they are aimed at different markets.  According to Brian Bowman, vice president of community at Yahoo, Flickr is aimed at professional and serious hobbyist photographers who want to share their photos with others and create online communities. Yahoo! Photos on the other hand is targeted at anyone who shoots pictures and wants a way to store, organize and share them with friends and family.

Those that have already seen it say the new Yahoo! Photos beta is quite impressive and is drawing rave reviews.

If you would like to take part in the Yahoo! Photos beta, you can sign up for it here.  Keep in mind though that it can take 10 days or more to get you converted to the new beta.

Updated 06-08-06 1:55p MST:  Speaking of Flickr, if you are a member, why not add me as one of your contacts?  My profile page is here.