MSN Search

MSN, the Microsoft Network, was launched in 1995 as a rival to AOL. It added Hotmail, instant messaging, shopping and other services as it grew into a portal, and in July 2000, it became the leading web destination, with more than 200m visitors a month. Two years ago, Microsoft decided that MSNs search should be powered by Microsoft technology, and this was finally released in 21 countries in 10 languages on February 1.Microsofts offerings are: Web, News, Images, Desktop, and Encarta. It also has a Near Me button for local searches. The results pages look like Googles but adverts are more prominent. As with Google and Yahoo, the toolbar and desktop search software must be downloaded separately.

Unadjusted searches at MSN are rarely better than Google and sometimes much worse. Most of its usage is therefore most likely to come from people who are on the MSN site for other reasons, or are searching from Microsofts Internet Explorer browser, where it is the default.MSN Search does have a drop down tool, Search Builder, which includes sliders that let you adjust the settings for sites that are more popular or have been updated recently. However, these are so cumbersome to use, it seems few will bother.