Microsoft to rebrand Live Search - Rumour

Mon Nov 24 2008, 08:54 AM

Microsoft is set to rebrand Windows Live Search, with "Kumo" being considered as its new name, according to online rumours. The search engine will relaunch in early 2009, reports TechCrunch citing a Microsoft source.

While the insider claims no final decision has been made on the name, a separate report on LiveSide.net claims kumo.com domain has recently been bought by Microsoft. The domain - which means "cloud" or "spider" in Japanese - now links to an internal Microsoft test site.

With the rebrand, Microsoft will reportedly turn Live.com into a social homepage, with the site acting as a hub for users to access email, calendar and photo services.

News of the rebrand come days after Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, said the software giant will not re-bid for Yahoo!, but he added that it is "very open" to a search ad deal.

Microsoft is currently focusing on expanding its search reach. Last month it announced it was setting up a three-site European Search Technology Centre in a bid to increase online search development. In October, Microsoft also released a new prototype search service, called U Rank, which lets users reorder, edit and share search results.

In Q3, Microsoft saw a 19.3% increase in first-page advertisers for its Live Search site, according to an AdGooroo report. The jump was Live Search's biggest ad increase in more than a year for adverts placed around search results. However, Google retained the largest share of advertisers among all search engines.