ConsumerReports.org (CRO) has expanded its Shop Online feature, and Yahoo Shopping customized its service for subscribers of CRO, the two companies announced on Monday.

CRO's Shop Online was launched in 2003 as a pilot program for digital cameras, and functionality has now been expanded to include Consumer Reports-rated products in ten categories: camcorders; conventional, plasma, and LCD TVs; cordless phones; digital cameras; DVD players; inkjet printers; PDAs; and MP3 players. Shop Online feature allows subscribers to continue from the research process on CRO to the actual purchase of a product.

Yahoo Shopping has customized its service for CRO subscribers and sorts retailers by price; eliminates used or refurbished products from retailers' listings; and provides links to only those retailers who are qualified for inclusion in Yahoo Shopping's Buyer Protection Plan, which safeguards consumers against fraudulent online sellers.

According to Jerry Steinbrink, General Manager of Information Products at Consumers Union, publisher of CRO, "We're adding this valuable service for CRO subscribers at no extra cost, providing them with a safer online environment to purchase goods than they could find elsewhere on the web. The depth and breadth of Yahoo Shopping further enhances this service for subscribers looking to buy the items we've rated."

Yahoo Shopping has nearly 150 thousand merchants and almost 50 million products and offers price comparison tools, a free shipping page, merchant ratings and more

Consumers Union does not derive any revenue from the arrangement with Yahoo or from purchases that occur through the Shop Online feature. CRO has no relationship with individual retailers or manufacturers and receives no payment from them, nor does it endorse retailers that appear in search results.

ConsumerReports.org has more paid subscribers than any other publication-based Web site. There are two types of subscriptions to ConsumerReports.org: an annual subscription for $26 (current subscribers to the magazine can join for $19 per year), or a monthly subscription for $4.95.