SAN FRANCISCO -- Yahoo Inc.'s chief executive wants to make the world's most popular Web site more entertaining, but Terry Semel says he isn't planning to push the Internet company into the movie or television business.

Speaking at a media conference Tuesday, Semel said it would be ridiculous for Yahoo to produce its own movies or television shows -- because the Internet requires more interactive experiences than traditional media.

The comments marked Semel's most direct response to questions about whether the Sunnyvale-based company plans to create original programming for its Web site, instead of compiling material from other sources.

The buzz about Yahoo possibly heading in a new direction began late last year when Semel, who ran Warner Brothers studios for years, hired former ABC television executive Lloyd Braun to oversee the company's media division.

The talk amplified in late January after Yahoo agreed to lease a Santa Monica office with enough room to accommodate about 1,000 workers.

Semel said he brought in Braun to help improve Yahoo's existing content, as well as explore other entertainment avenues such as the company's recent distribution deal with an online animation studio, JibJab Inc.

Without providing specifics, Semel indicated Yahoo believes it can provide more compelling material simply by developing additional ways for its 345 million users to create and share more of their own content.

Like most other major Internet companies, Yahoo has been studying ways to capitalize on the increasing popularity of Web logs, or blogs -- online personal journals that discuss major current events as well as more esoteric topics.

Whatever content Yahoo produces, "it has to be more unique and hopefully more clever" than other mass media, Semel said.

In other remarks during the Bear Stearns conference in Florida, Semel acknowledged that Yahoo probably can't count on continuing a lucrative partnership with Microsoft Corp.'s MSN.com.

Under a contract that runs through June 2006, the two companies currently share revenue generated from text-based advertising that Yahoo delivers to MSN, based on the words entered into the search engine's request box.

Semel predicted Tuesday that Microsoft is likely to break away and form its own advertising network to compete with the ones run by Yahoo and online search engine leader Google Inc.

MSN recently ended a separate licensing agreement with Yahoo and began delivering noncommercial search results based on its own algorithmic formulas.

"My guess is that they will do a good job," Semel said of Microsoft's increasing emphasis on search engine technology. "I welcome that. It's good to have good competition."

Yahoo's shares gained 3 cents Tuesday to close at $32.30 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.