Microsoft Corp. is removing the beta, or test, tag from Live Search, its next-generation search engine, and making it the
underlying search tool at its MSN.com portal.
The move comes as Microsoft anxious attempts to gain traction in the search engine market, where it remains a distant third
behind leader Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. Because search engine-based advertising is a fast-growing, multibillion-dollar business,
Microsoft has invested heavily in improving its search tools and accompanying ad network. But it has failed to make a dent
in Google's dominance.
In June, Google nabbed 45 percent of all search engine queries in the U.S., while Yahoo got 29 percent and Microsoft 13 percent,
according to comScore Networks Inc. This represents a market share reduction for Microsoft of almost 3 percentage points from
June 2005.
From Tuesday to Thursday, Microsoft will replace the current MSN Search engine on MSN.com with Live Search, which features
a revamped image search service, an improved local search, a redesigned user interface and new tools to refine query results,
said Derrick Connell, general manager of the Microsoft search business unit. The change will take place progressively on different
MSN host servers.
When users run a search on MSN.com, they will be taken to a Live Search results page on the Live.com domain, but there will
be links there to guide users back to the MSN.com portal, he said.
Live Search went into public beta testing in March at Live.com, the home page of the Live-branded initiative Microsoft launched last year to boost its software-as-a-service
offerings. Live.com is also exiting its beta status this week.
Among the enhancements in Live Search are new options to view full-size photos in image search results and an increased number
of "bird's eye" aerial images in local search, which is shedding its beta label in its U.S. and the U.K. services.
Live Search also features a new social search service called QnA, in which users can pose questions and have others chime
in with answers. Yahoo, Google and others have similar question-and-answer search services.
E-mail
Printer Friendly
Reprints
(InfoWorld) - In the litigious world we live in, deploying a unified communications platform in your enterprise could...
