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The new version of Live Search delivers improved results organized onto a single page so that customers can spend less time clicking through search results and other related Web sites and readily find what they are looking for instead.

Recent significant updates include improvements to the core technology powering search, improvements in user experience and presentation of results, and deep investments in specialized content in key vertical search areas, including shopping, multimedia, health, entertainment, mapping and local search. Collectively, these improvements mark a milestone in the company’s efforts toward delivering a highly differentiated search offering for both consumers and advertisers.

The updated Windows Live Search home page gets new Video and MSN search tabs, and adds a plug for the recently introduced Windows Live Suite:

Updated Search Features

• Live Search Video, powered by a new in-house video search technology, allows users to search for and browse online video content, and watch high-quality videos from the Web. With a new smart motion preview feature, consumers can now preview video within the search results by rolling over the thumbnail of the video.
• Live Search Local allows consumers to search local business listings, helping them make more informed decisions with rich business details and reviews, all within Live Search.
• Live Search Image has increased the image index and changed its user interface. With this increase, consumers are now able to search across millions of images and receive precise results with smart scroll, thumbnail image-sizing customization, filmstrip view and the ability to see the full image without leaving the results page.
• Live Search Products helps consumers easily find and discover products, reviews, guides, prices and other relevant information – all within the Live Search interface, giving them confidence in their buying decisions. User reviews at a glance, powered by our new Opinion Index technology, summarizes the sentiment of the Web about a product, which can save consumers both the time and hassle of combing through multiple Web sites for this information.
• Live Search Health helps consumers refine health searches quickly using related medical concepts to get relevant health information from a broad spectrum of perspectives, and helps them navigate complex topics with inline article results from experts like the Mayo Clinic – all on a single page.
• Live Search Entertainment helps consumers stay informed of the latest entertainment news with inline celebrity answers accompanied by images, video, facts and buzz. In addition, Live Search’s new xRank feature allows consumers to find out how their favorite celebrities rank in regard to total Web searches via a daily updated ranking.
• Live Search Instant Answers provides answers to questions at the top of the algorithmic results, so consumers spend less time searching for the information they need. Several new and updated Instant Answer features include Live Search traffic, weather, maps, entertainment, news, product, stocks and health.
• Live Search Maps updates in the coming months will include a new user interface, better ways to map local business listings, and quicker, more accurate directions with better printing features.

Additional Search Features

• Live Search Scopes allow people to see search results from Web pages, local maps and directions, images, videos, and more without the need to re-enter the same query each time or to leave the page.
• Live Search Toolbar provides access to the Live Search platform from any Web page.
• Live Search Academic allows consumers to search through academic information and journals, including computer science, engineering and physics journals.
• Live Search Books is advancing the way people search online by digitizing and indexing information from printed material from around the world, representing another step forward in Microsoft’s efforts to precisely answer people’s questions with trusted content from the best possible sources.
• Live Search QnA brings a community of real people into the search experience that can help answer a consumer’s toughest questions. Live Search QnA enables consumers to ask and answer questions to further the social networking experience at Live.com.
• Live Search Macros is a powerful tool that allows consumers to create their own custom search engines or use customizations created by others who share their interests to make their searches more relevant.

Availability

The new version of Live Search is available at http://www.live.com.

Source: Microsoft press release

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