WebProNews

Matt Hicks, eWeek's star tech journalist, keeps the reports coming, today looking at MSN's pending hard-launch of its new search engine.

He chats to Danny Sullivan and others, including Allen Weiner of Gartner Inc., who has this to say...

""It's a pretty big move, and it sets the tone for what they're going to be doing moving forward," Weiner said. "They're going to look inside for innovation."

Weiner views the MSN search switchover as the beginning of Microsoft's longer-term bet on search as a fundamental technology across its products. Where the company can grab more search market share is by attracting search users through its other products, such as other MSN services and Microsoft's Office software."

The switch to the new index should happen any day now.

In other eWeek/MSN news, Microsoft says they do not plan to integrate desktop search with any new operating system.

Andy Beal is an internet marketing consultant and considered one of the world's most respected and interactive search engine marketing experts. Andy has worked with many Fortune 1000 companies such as Motorola, CitiFinancial, Lowes, Alaska Air, DeWALT, NBC and Experian.

You can read his internet marketing blog at Marketing Pilgrim and reach him at andy.beal@gmail.com.