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Microsoft Launches News Program
Posted on November 18, 2003

Microsoft is debuting an automated localised news service, MSN Newsbot, on its internet portal in what is being seen as a direct assault on Google, which launched 'international' versions of Google News in May this year.

Currently in beta-test in four languages - British English, French, Italian and Spanish - the MSN Newsbot is an automated news service that gathers news from more than 4,000 online sources to provide users with localised news, according to the Newsbot website.

Developed in conjunction with news data source Moreover and Microsoft's research and development unit, Microsoft Research, Microsoft is expected to add more languages over time. The company would no give any further details.

However, Microsoft is keen to differentiate MSN Newsbot from other search technology, claiming that it uses tracking technology and consumer data gathered from users of its e-wallet system, Passport, to deliver personalised news.

The company claims on the new site: "As news changes around the world, MSN Newsbot updates continuously to keep you current on what stories are being reported online. You can search to find news related to particular topics, or browse the sections to find news in Sports, Business, Technology, or World News."

Microsoft hired Joshua Petersen, a former Amazon.com executive who was responsible for increasing the online retailer's business through the use of its own recommendation engine, in March. Petersen now heads up MSN's news customisation service.

The company also poached former Overture CTO Paul Ryan in November and has changed its entire global structure to help it develop its search services in competition with Yahoo - which now owns Overture - and Google.