Microsoft relaunches MSN search to lure Google users

by Jennifer Whitehead,, Brand Republic 02-Jul-04, 08:00

LONDON - Microsoft has unveiled its new clutter-free Google-looking MSN search page, as it fights back against the dominance of its rival in the search engine market.

Search.msn.com is a clean, pared-back page, reminiscent of Google's search engine. The results are also delivered in a similar way, with sponsored searches at the side and at the top of the page, and a link to related MSN pages.

However, unlike Google, it does not offer tabs for image or news searches. MSN is using Yahoo! technology to power the searches, which it says are 45% more relevant than before.

Microsoft is spending $100m (£55m) to improve services for customers and recently revealed that it was upgrading its free Hotmail email service, bringing it in line with rivals such as Yahoo! Mail and Google's Gmail.

Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of MSN, said: "This massive investment kicks off a wave of innovation from MSN that will move search beyond its current, limited offering to delivering the next-generation search experience."

With the major search engines all offering advertisers the chance to bid for search words, it is becoming an increasingly lucrative revenue stream on the internet. Where there was once friendly deals between search engines, there is now stiff competition.

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