Microsoft Updates Search Engine

In attempt to stay viable in the search market, Microsoft revealed changes to its Live Search site yesterday, the first since it was launched last year. The changes include integration of streaming video into top searches, instant answers on health-related queries, a rating and review index for product searches, as well as improvements to core search relevancy.

The core search relevancy improvements include recognition of compound words and knowing when or when not to ignore definite articles. But similar features are already available on other search engines and assessing the overall set of improvements, CNET's Elinor Woods writes that "Microsoft executives seem to be in denial of how much work they have ahead of them on search." (More Microsoft stories.)