Microsoft Debuts Windows Live Internet Search Engine

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

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. Debuting in test form today, 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 will power queries on live.com, Microsoft’s Windows Live Web site, beginning today. 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. 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 Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president of information services at MSN.