Microsoft launches MSN Search Engine Local

It is not very clear that how many users actually find the local searches helpful in their current form in the US but search engines continue to evolve and improve their services in this area. The latest to join the local search brigade is the MSN Search Engine, which launched the local searching capabilities yesterday. MSN is aiming this service at providing information to MSN Search Engine users related to finding businesses and people in their locality.

This service is currently in beta testing and would also be placing query listings on a map from the company’s MapPoint Web Service as per the company sources. It would also call aerial images plucked from the company’s TerraServer-USA database if available for the searched region. Users also get to see related relevant pages from the MSN Search Engine’s Near Me technology, which has been available for quite sometime.

On a later stage, Microsoft would incorporate features of the MSN Virtual Earth, which is destined to challenge the services of Google Maps by providing facilities like superimposing driving routes, places, and weather information on maps and satellite images. This should be available by the end of the year.

The company faces competition from existing services like Google, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, and America Online who currently have an edge over the software giant in this local search market. Local Search is expected to become a hot market in the future, as localized advertisement would be vastly enhancing the potential of earning revenues from the search engine results targeted on targeted areas.