Microsoft Updates Bing Search Engine in the UK

Microsoft search engine Bing has rolled out a series of new updates across its UK site that it says are designed to help Brits spend less time searching and more time doing.

The changes include removing some text in a slight redesign of the homepage. "The first thing users will notice is a new slicker, cleaner design, starting with the homepage, which allows for a much larger homepage image," the Bing UK blog announced. "In addition the results themselves are cleaner."

Information on the left of the page has been removed and the header at the top of the page has been minimised. Space has also been increased between the lines to improve readability and optimise the page for touch devices.

The idea is to raise the level of consistency and predictability while making it easier for the user to scan the page and quickly find the information they want.

Microsoft promised that the new experience is more than skin-deep and said users will also notice faster page-load times and improved relevance of search results.

Peter Maxmin, head of Bing UK said Microsoft wanted to make the search experience quicker and easier so users can get on with the important stuff.

"Most of us would like to spend less time searching for information online, as, let's face it, there is more to life than search," he said in the blog post.

Bing has doubled its market share to 15 percent over the past three years.

However, Microsoft's online services unit is losing nearly $500m each quarter despite heavy investment and has yet to catch up with rival Google.