Software giant Microsoft has released details of its new search engine called Bing, which is designed to take on Google. Redmond has been showing off the search engine to IT hacks and others who might be interested but it is expected to launch next week.

Bing is supposed to intuitively understand what people are looking for, so we guess it will send a lot of people to porn sites. Microsoft described it as a "Decision Engine" although anyone who outsources their decisions to a search engine are in for a rude shock.

Shy and retiring, softly spoken Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said that today, search engines do a decent job of helping people navigate the web and find information, but they don't do a very good job of enabling people to use the information they find.

Bing is based on Microsoft's “ deep understanding of how people really want to use the web," he claimed. Bing uses algorithms and key words to provide results for online searches but has infused some semantic technology that deduces intended meanings of phrases.

Bing will replace MSN Live Search, which has languished in a distant third place behind market-leading Google and second-place Yahoo!