Microsoft Corp has released a beta version of its new search engine on its web site, which was developed in conjunction with Inktomi Corp. The engine is part of Redmond’s effort to enter the portal wars and will feature on its main web site as well as joining the search engine rotation on the beleaguered Microsoft Network site (msn.com), which is a site in the early stages of a portal makeover. In producing its own engine, Microsoft will face the same dilemma as arch rival Netscape Communications Corp, which produced its own search engine, co-branded and developed by Excite Inc. Netscape ended its relationship with Yahoo! Inc a week or so before it launched its fully-fledged portal, Netcenter 2.0 (06/02/98) and its other search partners must be feeling somewhat awkward. Microsoft currently features Yahoo!, Excite, Infoseek, Lycos and AOL NetFind in its search rotation.
