America Online (www.aol.com) announced on October 15 that it is testing a new search engine that scans for files on a PC's hard drive, mirroring a similar product unveiled on October 14 by the search engine giant Google (www.google.com). AOL's desktop search was not developed in-house but is powered by a third-party's technology, and is currently being offered as a feature within a test version of a standalone Web browser that AOL is developing.
The company currently has a partnership with Google to power its Web and commercial search results. AOL's desktop search tool will match many features offered in Google's similar application, released in beta on October 13. Both products can search for Microsoft Office files such as Word and Excel, photos, music, chat logs from AOL Instant Messenger and previously viewed Internet Explorer pages.
AOL spokeswoman Anne Bentley confirmed that the desktop search tool is being tested alongside the AOL Browser but declined to elaborate further. She said the AOL Browser will launch as early as November.
