CLICK to read article on Yahoo! News"Microsoft Corp deepened its ties with social networking company Facebook on Wednesday, bolstering its fledgling Bing search engine in an effort to catch up with Google Inc.
Microsoft said it would integrate content from Facebook -- the world's leading social network with over half a billion members -- to refine search results starting on Wednesday, including profiles of Facebook users and Web pages they have endorsed by clicking on 'like' buttons.
The world's largest software company has stepped up its efforts within its money-losing online services division, seeking to challenge the dominance of Google, the world's largest search engine.
'The thing that makes Microsoft a great partner for us is that they really are the underdog here,' Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg told reporters at Microsoft's Silicon Valley offices. 'Because of that they in a structural position where they're incentivized to go all out and innovate.'
The Facebook data provides important 'signals' to help refine search results, Microsoft Online Services Division President Qi Lu told reporters.
As part of their agreement, Microsoft's Bing will be able to access user's 'likes' on the social networking service and deliver search results tailored to individual preferences.
Microsoft invested $240 million in Facebook in 2007, giving it a 1.6 percent stake in the social networking company, and the two companies have forged various business collaborations over the years.
Microsoft introduced Bing, an overhauled version of its search engine, last year, and forged a 10-year partnership with Yahoo that merges the companies' back-end advertising systems, offering marketers a larger audience.
Bing is currently the exclusive provider of Web search on Facebook, and Microsoft sells text-based search ads for Facebook's site.
Microsoft's shares closed up more than 2 percent, or 51 cents, at $25.34.
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