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Microsoft has released the first public version of its new search engine. In the tech world, this is huge -- the world's biggest technology company jumping into one of the most hotly contested areas of the internet.

Most of you probably use Google, so Microsoft is starting out as a definite underdog. (Image from http://beta.search.msn.com)

I talked to a couple of search engine experts to see what they think. Chris Sherman is associate editor of SearchEngineWatch.com. He says at this point the battle is not about whether one engine does better or worse with a basic search. It's about the extra bells and whistles -- he calls it the search engine's "personality."

I heard similar thoughts from Loren Baker, the director of search marketing at WebAdvantage.net and editor of the Search Engine Journal. He likes how Microsoft is using its breadth as a company to strengthen the search results.

Google struck back at Microsoft almost immediately, announcing it had doubled the number of indexed pages on its system to eight billion -- three billion more than Microsoft. Jeff Horwich guest-hosts.

Jeff's daily tech news links:

Reuters: Microsoft's search encounters glitches on first day

USA Today: Boeing, Northrop Grumman to team up to build next NASA spacecraft

CNET's News.com: Cell phones take on the iPod