Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it acquired Lookout Software, the developer of the Lookout personal search tool, as the software maker continues to bolster its investment in search technology. The
terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Lookout tool will provide Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 users with a speedy way to search for e-mail, files and desktop data within Outlook. "Lookout has
developed an innovative technology for searching e-mail that is aligned with our own MSN Search efforts," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of MSN, in a statement. "Our vision is to take
search beyond today's basic Internet search services to deliver direct answers to people's questions, and help them find information from a broad range of sources."
Microsoft's MSN recently
unveiled new functions and services for its MSN Search service as part of a $100 million investment in improving Web users' search experience. Improvements unveiled on July 1 included an overhauled
MSN Search home page, easier navigation to MSN services, and an updated look for the search results pages that separates algorithmic results from paid results and eliminates paid inclusion, among
other changes. MSN attracts more than 350 million unique users worldwide per month.
Separately, Microsoft said that it now has more than a million subscribers for Xbox Live, the online gaming
service associated with the company's videogame console.