Google changed the way you searched on the Internet. Its tremendous success with the search engine has seen more players testing the popular business.
Now it is the turn of MSN to join the fray. Microsoft Corporation on Tuesday launched its first search engine to help consumers search the Web and get 'precise answers'.
"We are committed to continuous improvement in the speed, precision and ease of use of our search service," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of the MSN Information Services & Merchant Platform division at Microsoft, in a media release.
The service would be available in 25 countries and 10 languages. The search engine would deliver more-relevant results, instant answers to specific questions, and a collection of tools that give Internet users greater control in targeting and refining searches, said the release.
By using its own software, instead of relying on other companies, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft can add functions that win over more users and help boost advertising revenue.
The new home page features a cleaner look and feel and a simplified layout to make information even faster and easier to find.
MSN Search now has a more prominent position on the home page, with convenient tabs that allow consumers to quickly target searches to the Web, news, images, music, desktop or the best-selling encyclopedia, Microsoft Encarta.
"This built-from-the-ground-up version of MSN Search provides an infrastructure that enables us to rapidly innovate and give consumers precisely the information they're looking for, no matter where it's located," Mehdi said in the release.
After the launch of a public beta version of MSN Search last November, MSN has gathered significant feedback to help further improve the product.
The search engine had features designed to provide instant answers, not just a long list of links, which include instant answers from Microsoft Encarta.
The answers would also be provided in categories such as geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations.
By using its own software, instead of relying on other companies, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft can add functions that win over more users and help boost advertising revenue.
The company also plans to have future versions to let users source video content and text from books.