Yahoo spokesman Scott Morris said the court picked a tentative date of Jan. 7 in an administrative proceeding today made possible by a crucial ruling in February on the jurisdiction of French judges.

At that time, the court said it had the right to rule on offences that take place "in part or whole abroad ... which might undermine national interests."

Former Yahoo president Timothy Koogle is named in the criminal charges, which could lead to jail time under French anti-hate laws.

In late 2000, another French court, deliberating over a lawsuit launched by human rights groups, ordered the Sunnyvale, Calif., company to remove Nazi-related material from its Yahoo France site.

Yahoo followed up with its own lawsuit in the U.S., launched to stake out its sovereignty over its Web servers. Late last year a U.S. District Court judge ruled that demands such as those from the French would have no effect in America, but the two anti-racism groups named in Yahoo's suit have since appealed.

Morris said it's possible the trial date of Jan. 7, 2003, could change over the next year, during which two other court dates have been set - in July and October - for other administrative matters related to the case.

Yahoo is at: http://www.yahoo.com .

Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .

16:01 CST
Reposted 16:02 CST