November 2004
Overview
MSN® Search makes Web searches more useful by providing consumers with improved access to information and fast, relevant answers to their questions. MSN Search (launched in 1998) is currently among the top three search portals in the United States and worldwide.1 MSN Search is available internationally in 39 markets and 19 languages.
On Nov. 11, 2004, MSN released a global beta of the improved MSN Search service in 26 markets and 11 languages worldwide.2 The beta version, which features a Microsoft-built search engine, represents a milestone in the development of a comprehensive MSN Search service that moves search beyond its current limited offerings to delivering answers faster and providing consumers with more control over their search experience.
Better, More Relevant Results
MSN has listened to consumers throughout the development process and invested heavily in creating a state-of-the-art search engine to serve as the foundation for MSN Search. The new MSN Search beta delivers the information consumers are looking for online faster through a combination of up-to-date resources and search tools that make it possible for consumers to tailor their search to their needs, including these:
Vast index of information
Consumers can quickly and easily find the most relevant information with MSN Search, which offers one of the largest, most up-to-date indexes of Web documents reported today, with over 5 billion documents.
To help consumers quickly get to the information they are looking for, MSN Search offers the ability to search for specific types of information using search tabs, including Web, news and images.
Most up-to-date information
The MSN Search index, much of which is updated weekly or even daily, provides the most relevant, timely and accurate data as quickly as possible, while minimizing frustrating dead links.
Direct answers
Using MSN Search, a consumer can type in a question and receive an authoritative, direct answer provided by Microsoft® Encarta®, the No. 1 best-selling encyclopedia brand.3
Encarta can provide fact-based answers such as definition, facts, calculations, conversions and solutions to equations. Sample types of searches include the following, among many others:
"Who was the vice president for George Washington?"
"What is seven times twenty?"
"Define spanakopita"
"How many inches in a mile?"
Direct actions
Using MSN Search, consumers can type in the name of an artist, song or album and receive results from MSN Music. One click allows consumers to sample the music; a second click lets them purchase and download.
Image search
The current image index includes more than 400 million high-quality images. By using the image tab, consumers can effortlessly find the photo they are looking for.
By default, MSN Search filters out explicit images.
More Control for Consumers
Microsoft Corp. designed MSN Search to overcome the "one size fits all" approach offered by other search engines. Pull-down menus and other customization tools built into MSN Search allow consumers to control and refine their searches in the following ways:
Using the Search Near Me feature, consumers can choose to receive search results tailored to a geographic location. A consumer in Portland, Maine, who needs the nearest pizza place or local fire station no longer must sift through online listings for Portland, Ore. This is accomplished by assigning geographical information to Web pages as they are indexed by the service.
Using the Search Builder tool, consumers can customize search results by emphasizing or de-emphasizing certain search criteria, such as specific site or domain, country or region, or language. Consumers can visit a menu of adjustable onscreen dials for each criterion, which can be reset when consumers' criteria change. A consumer who needs current facts and figures can adjust the dial to emphasize the most updated results; a consumer who is looking for the official Web site of a favorite television program can adjust the dial to emphasize the most popular results.
Availability
The new MSN Search beta is available today via local URLs in 26 markets -- including Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Finland, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States -- and 11 languages and in the United States at
http://beta.search.msn.com .
MSN Search is available at
http://www.search.msn.com in 39 markets and 19 languages.
