Microsoft's secret search fees gradually showed up

Microsoft is quietly and silently adding more search services for Windows Live to compete with two great rivals Google and Yahoo.

Source: Businessweek

Through its own PR firm, Microsoft confirmed that its two new search services were available, Windows Live Product Search to fight Froogle and Academic Search to "join" Google Scholar. Both will work together in Windows Live Search.

Earlier, this information was also posted in the LiveSide blog, according to which, Live Product Search is described similarly to Google's Froogle service. This service will compare the prices of products and allow users to search by specific categories, brands, sellers or keywords. In addition to providing shopping guides from experts and consumers, Product Search also allows you to access articles or blogs that discussed the product - something Froogle lacks.

Search for scholars

Clearly, Academic Search has a direct competitor, Google Scholar. This service allows users to search for articles published in specialized academic journals. Moreover, it also informs you whether the book (or article) resides in a library near where you are sitting.

According to information on LiveSide, Academic Search will allow you to view the summary or the whole article, provided that this article does not reside on a website that requires subscription or restricted access. If you wish, you can also purchase the article through the British Library service.

Last Friday, Microsoft said Academic Search will release beta before the end of September, but at the time of launching Product Search it is still a secret.

Not long ago, Microsoft also launched Windows Live Image Search in Windows Live, very similar to Google's image search service. Each time you type in a keyword, you can click on the word "Image" to find the corresponding image.

Thien Y