Bing comes marching in

This week, we report on Microsoft's newest search engine, called Bing. It was designed to take on Google, a search engine that is second to none. Experts are doubtful Microsoft will succeed in trumping the current search leader, because Google is so popular, so effective and virtually embedded in our culture.

But Microsoft is betting on a few features to help consumers perform faster and better searches, not just give them raw information. This includes related searches down the left side of the page, text summaries of search results to save time, user and expert reviews integrated into product searches and a service that offers advice on when to buy airline tickets.

Bing hopes to be more than a search engine, but a "decision engine" that provides a richer, more fulfilling experience. "We are pushing beyond the way search works today," Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president for Microsoft's online audience business group told the New York Times.

For Microsoft, of course, it is a big deal. The software giant lags well behind Google and Yahoo in the search business, and search is the primary tool for navigating the web. More importantly, ads are linked directly to search results, and that translates into huge sums of money.

We're looking forward to another search engine in the space. It's always great to welcome a new product to market and new innovations in enrich the online experience. And we hope this competition will make Google and every other search engine out there a better product, too. - Judi