Microsoft adds free entertainment features to Bing

Microsoft has added music, gaming, films and television features to Bing

Microsoft has added a range of entertainment features to its Bing search pages as the company continues to try and differentiate itself from the competition.

The changes were detailed in a blog post by Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president for Bing, who said that Microsoft is making a big push to add features that could lure enterprise users back from the "decision engine".

"One of the biggest investments we are making is in the area of entertainment. As the content on the web has exploded, it has become difficult to navigate and find what you are looking for," he said.

"In the field of entertainment, 76 per cent of people use search to help find and navigate their entertainment options online, but only 10 per cent say they have a trusted place to go."

Microsoft sees entertainment as a good opportunity to "help customers make important entertainment decisions", and has added features covering music, gaming, films and television.

Bing has partnered with Microsoft's Zune to offer streaming songs, as well as a dedicated music search page. Mehdi said that users would get a free play of the songs on the Zune database as well as being offered links to the major MP3 stores.

This experience is mirrored in the gaming pages where users can play "casual games" direct from the homepage. Mehdi claimed that this will also protect users from malware associated with online applications.