MSN launches shopping site test
22 March 2005
Microsoft is beta testing a new shopping search site, the company has confirmed.
Justin Osmer, product manager for MSN, said the beta version, available at beta.shopping.msn.com, is very much a work in progress. He also indicated that MSN might launch other vertical search engines.
Mr Osmer said in a statement: "Now that the MSN Search engine has launched, we can very quickly innovate on top of it and offer more unique features and services." MSN's search engine officially launched last month.
He added: "Shopping, as well as a number of other verticals, is certainly an area where we are looking to expand search into. The Instant Answers feature with Encarta and MSN Music are really just a start. The year will be all about rapid innovation for us."
A message on the beta shopping site reads: "Our focus here is to explore new ways to help you search for products, refine your search, sort results in a variety of different ways (by price, popularity, etc.), compare similar products and their cost at different stores, and to provide product ratings and reviews by shoppers like yourself."
MSN has had a shopping area (MSN Shopping) for a long time, but the new shopping search intends to provide a more comprehensive round-up of products than the existing service, along with other features.The new product focuses on price comparison and customer ratings.
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