Today marks the worldwide launch of the new MSN® Search (www.msn.com), the first-ever search engine built from the ground up by Microsoft Corp. The new search engine architects are aimed to help consumers more quickly search the Web and get precise answers.
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"Our mission at Microsoft is to use the power of software to solve our customers' toughest problems. Searching the Internet today is a challenge, and it is estimated that nearly half of customers' complex questions go unanswered," said Bill Gates, Chairman Microsft Corporation.
The MSN search engine is now available in 25 markets and 10 languages. From the company announced that the new MSN Search service delivers more-relevant results and instant answers to specific questions.
Additionally the search engine includes a collection of tools that give Internet users greater control in targeting and refining searches.
The launch of MSN Search comes three months after the release of an initial beta version. Microsoft had been previously using Yahoo unit Inktomi to power its search services. Now the largest software builder will no longer use other search engine capabilities. With the full release of its search engine, Microsoft steps on the search engine market with its own technology.
Consumers in the United States can experience the service on the redesigned MSN home page at http://www.msn.com.
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 Microsoft® Encarta®.
"We're 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.
Since the launch of a public beta version of MSN Search last November, MSN has gathered significant feedback to help further improve the product.
Features designed to provide instant answers, not just a long list of links, include the following: instant Answers from Microsoft Encarta. Answers are provided in categories such as geographical locations, historical and popular figures, definitions, facts, calculations, conversions, and solutions to equations.
Additionally it gives instant Answers from MSN Music. Consumers can type the name of a recording artist, song or album into MSN Search and automatically get links to music files and other top content provided by MSN Music.
The new features of the MSN Search tools include: Search Builder, Category-specific searching and Search Near Me - a feature helping users tailor their search results to a specific geographic location so they receive information that's applicable to where they are or where they want to go.
MSN is promoting the global launch of the new service with a widespread marketing campaign that includes a mix of grassroots promotions and broad-reach advertising. The campaign is expected to reach at least 90 percent of consumers in the United States and several hundred million other consumers globally.