Er, what’s a Bing?

Microsoft announced today that they are preparing to roll out a revamped version of the net-based search engine Bing, after spending nearly US$6 billion on the service over its three year existence.

The “new” Bing will interface with users’ Facebook accounts, enabling an “ask a friend”-type system where solutions to queries can be sourced within users’ friends and contacts, as well as from the web. The revised engine will then present findings in three panels, one containing the solutions dredged from friends and contacts, another with responses from the web, and a third for “highlighted information” (most likely adverts and web banners for MSN…)

The main reason for the redesign is another attempt to close the gap with net giant Google, which is responsible for a massive two-thirds of global search engine activity annually. On its own, Bing accounts for about 15% of global search engine activity, as well as the 14% held by Yahoo, which is powered by Bing technology.

[Source: News24, Trends Update]