The New York Times (www.nytimes.com) announced on November 10 that the software giant Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) is planning to introduce its long-awaited Internet search engine on November 11. Word of the introduction of the service, which will compete with the search engine giants Google and Yahoo, was leaked on November 9 after the company began phoning reporters offering briefings for November 10. A company spokeswoman declined comment on the announcement.
Microsoft has been pursuing a Web portal strategy with its MSN service with little success, and, like Yahoo, has been attempting to muscle in on Google's strong revenue growth. Google more than doubled its revenue and profit in its first quarter after its initial public offering, underscoring how rapidly the market for online advertising has been swelling.
Microsoft has been demonstrating Web search technologies since the summer of 2003, when the head of the company's research effort, Richard F. Rashid, gave a demonstration of the company's technology at its Silicon Valley campus. More recently, the company has been posting technology tests at sandbox.msn.com http://sandbox.msn.com. The site includes a search demonstration, a tool for searching locally stored electronic mail, a tool for searching news and other services.
Industry speculation has been widespread that Microsoft will try to compete with Google by integrating Internet search into the desktop of its Windows operating system. However, the company's new Longhorn operating system, which has focused on search technology, has been delayed and there is no public date for its introduction. Meanwhile Google has been moving quickly to offer services that compete directly and indirectly with Microsoft.
