Microsoft Begins Rolling Out Updated MSN

Microsoft on Tuesday started rolling out its new MSN homepage, a revamp that includes integration with social networks like Twitter and Facebook, a more prominent Bing presence, and more emphasis on local news.

Microsoft has not been shy about its desire to usurp Google in search dominance, so one of the major changes is putting the Bing search box front and center on the homepage. In an effort to de-clutter, the search bar is now longer and taller and sits atop the page alone rather than surrounded by links.

Since Microsoft launched a beta version of the new page in November, executives have seen a double-digit increase in the amount of Bing searches on MSN, Bob Visse, general manager of MSN product management, said in a video message.

This was partly achieved through the use of a relevancy algorithm, which clusters the MSN audience into eight different groups and then provides different headlines to different clusters based on their preferences, said Scott Moore, general manager of content and programming.

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