Software giant Microsoft Corp. (www.microsoft.com) will set up an advisory group of industry insiders to preview its search engine plans and research. Microsoft's Internet division has invited dozens of Webloggers, researchers and others to its Redmond, Washington, campus next week for an event called Search Champs. They are scheduled to hear about and test upcoming features for MSN Search (http://search.msn.com) and to meet researchers from Microsoft Research, according to several people invited to participate.
One of MSN's first targets appears to be desktop search. In August, company officials said a product for searching desktop files and e-mail would be released by the end of 2004 and eventually would combine MSN's Web search.
MSN Search officials confirmed the creation of the Search Champs program and likened it to MSN's earlier technology preview of its own Web search technology, which is slated to compete with Google and Yahoo as early as this year. Earlier in 2004, MSN revamped the design and features of MSN Search, though it continues to draw its Web results from Yahoo's technology. A beta release of MSN's news search, called MSNBC Newsbot (http://newsbot.msnbc.msn.com), came out in the summer of 2004.
MSN product manager Justin Osmer said that MSN created the Search Champs program as part of its commitment to listen to customer feedback on the evolving features of MSN's search product.
