In its latest bid to catch up with rivals Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. is launching a revamped Internet search engine it says will help computer users find information faster, view it more easily and organize it better.
Microsoft is set to launch the beta version of its new Windows Live Search page, which uses the same behind-the-scenes technology as MSN Search but will eventually become the company’s sole search offering.
Microsoft also said it plans to begin testing a desktop email product designed to work with the company’s online email accounts, similar to Microsoft Outlook Express.
Windows Live Search is Microsoft’s latest move in a major strategy shift that has the world’s largest software company focusing more heavily on Internet-based software and services.
The goal of the shift, which includes initiatives dubbed Windows Live and Office Live, is to create online products to complement its main cash cows: the Windows operating system and Office business software.
Windows Live Search features new capabilities for image search, news search, RSS feeds, mail, local search and shopping. The beta search product also offers a search preview, a search slider bar that lets users specify the number and size of results on the page, and smart scroll, which lets users view all search results without moving from page to page.
In addition, a new search function, dubbed "Street View," aims to give people a driver’s view of downtown Seattle and San Francisco, using pictures detailed enough to make out cars and people. Available in test form, it is similar to Amazon.com Inc.’s A9 search engine, which provides detailed street-level views of certain cities.
Microsoft also unveiled an updated version of its Live.com site and a beta version of Windows Live Toolbar.
The new Windows Live Toolbar lets users search from any Web page using Windows Live Search. It incorporates technology, acquired during the purchase of OnFolio, which allows people to save information onto their computers and find information through an integrated RSS aggregator and reader.
Once the technology has been fully tested, Windows Live Search will replace the existing search engine that powers MSN.com. MSN spokesman Adam Sohn said the company has not determined how long it will run Windows Live Search as a test.
In the future there will be one search experience–when we come out of beta with Windows Live Search, which would not be years from now, said Sohn. He was making a reference to Google, whose products often stay in beta for years.
Microsoft merged MSN with Windows last summer and announced plans in November to offer Web-based services under the Windows Live name. Windows Live will combine e-mail, blogging, instant messaging and other services. MSN, meanwhile, will focus on content and media, Sohn said.
Microsoft’s Live.com service also will allow users to add persistent search results to their home page, subscribe to RSS feeds directly from search results and use new gadgets such as clock, notepad, stock quotes and weather.
Microsoft previously announced plans to start the U.S. online classified service, called Windows Live Expo, in the hopes of competing with the likes of Craigslist.
The test version launched recently distinguishes itself from competitors by giving people the option to narrowly define who sees their listings. For example, sellers could make their goods available only to people who work at their company, based on email addresses. Or they could limit their offerings only to people on their instant messenger "buddy list."
It also hopes to be more geographically personalized by asking sellers to provide a ZIP code for searching purposes.
This is the second major chapter in our overall effort to drive innovation in search, Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of MSN information services, said in an interview. The first two-and-a-half years were about catching up and building the basic services…closing the gap with the current players with regard to relevancy of search results.
Mehdi said Microsoft has closed the gap with Yahoo and is "within a couple of points of Google."
Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said he is not ready to make any predictions.
Conceptually it sounds good. Execution will tell all, said Wilcox, who got an early briefing on the new search engine. Microsoft did not give analysts or reporters access to the search engine before its launch.
Wilcox said Microsoft’s best shot at gaining ground on its competitors is if it can make search results more relevant.
There is something very alien about the whole keyword approach as a means of finding stuff, Wilcox said. So if Microsoft can move away from that and actually let people ask questions, use more natural language … that could really boost the usability of search. That is the kind of thing that could put pressure on Google.
A key goal with the new search engine will be to give people more control over how they search for information and how they put it to use once they get it, said Mehdi.
The spate of online efforts are part of the Redmond, Wash., software maker’s broader goal of improving its Internet-based offerings, to better compete with rivals such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.
MSN Search has about 11 percent of the U.S. search market, behind Yahoo with 22 percent and Google with 48 percent, according Nielsen/NetRatings.
The Windows Live Search will be accessible across all the upcoming Windows Live services, such as Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Mail.