The new AltaVista toolbar is an add-on to the Internet Explorer browser for Windows and gives users direct access to the AltaVista search engine from the browser window. The free and customizable toolbar offers Internet users important advantages in searching and navigating the Web through more than 20 convenient, easy-to-use features. The new toolbar saves time and extends a user's search experience through unique, innovative features that include the ability to translate complete Web pages or individual phrases into 10 languages.

Other popular features include a pop-up blocker, the ability to highlight (search terms), find (similar to CTRL-F but easier to use,) and shortcut lookups for weather, area codes, zip codes, time zones, and exchange rates. The toolbar also gives direct access to news and the world's largest collection of image, video, and audio files.