Microsoft's Roger Wong (2nd R) demonstrates maps using Bing at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Microsoft on Friday rolled out a revamped Bing that includes insights from Facebook and Twitter in the biggest overhaul of the search service since its launch three years ago.
Microsoft on Friday rolled out a revamped Bing that includes insights from Facebook and Twitter in the biggest overhaul of the search service since its launch three years ago.
"Most things in life are better with people you trust," Microsoft said in a release announcing that the changes promise in May have arrived.
"The new social features in Bing make it easy to exchange ideas, share opinions and take action, giving searchers the same confidence they get from bouncing an idea off a friend."
Google in January meshed posts from its social network into search results based on a similar belief that people value input from friends or others they respect.
The new version of Bing features a "social sidebar" that will list Facebook friends who may know something about a query topic, according to Microsoft.
Microsoft has been doggedly working to increase its share of a lucrative Internet search market dominated for years by California-based Google.
Microsoft in late 2007 paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook.
The investment put Microsoft in a position to build a relationship with Facebook, which has a stated mission of making the Internet more social.
(c) 2012 AFP
