After being in a 9-month beta period, Yahoo! publicly launched its Trip Planner, a research tool that allows users to create their travel guides and itineraries and share their experiences online.

The new service that is ready to be used by the public allows users to plan their trips, select various sights, hotels et al. Users could also make their trips public and view other people’s trips to create a sort of collective travel guide. Yahoo! Trip Planner also sees the integration of Yahoo Maps, Flickr, and Yahoo 360 blogs. Users can see their trips plotted on a Yahoo Map, and can chronicle their journey by posting blog items during and after the trip, illustrating it by dragging and dropping their Flickr photos.

Also, in conjunction with the launch of Trip Planner, Yahoo! Travel has partnered with MasterCard to give users the opportunity to showcase their Trip Plans through its Great Trip Planner Ticket Giveaway promotion. MasterCard will be providing two free airline tickets a day in a sweepstakes for qualified entrants through the end of August.