Yahoo has hired veteran TV correspondent Kevin Sites to produce a multimedia website that will report on conflict around the world with original online video programming, writes the New York Times. The site, scheduled to launch September 26, is called "Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone" (hotzone.yahoo.com) and will feature Sites's travels as a war correspondent, using nearly every kind of format the internet allows, according to the Times. One of Yahoo's motivations is to tap into the rapidly growing demand for video advertising on the web.

Lloyd Braun, former chairman of ABC's entertainment group who now heads Yahoo's media group, said the company is trying to develop signature programming in all areas - news, sports, health, entertainment, finance. But, he said, that does not mean Yahoo is "building any kind of news organization."

Sites intends to visit every place on earth defined by international organizations as a war or conflict zone - likely to include about 36 countries. He will write a 600-800-word dispatch each day, produce a slide show of 5-10 digital photos, and narrate audio travelogues.

Several forms of video will be posted several times a week, and Sites will host online chats with Yahoo users who will be able to post comments on message boards. Throughout the day, Sites will also post text messages updating his activities.