Notable changes include the addition of related searches (called “Explorer pane” on the left side of search results), based on semantic technology from PowerSet, a search company Microsoft purchased in 2008, search suggestions as you type, and the ability to keep track of your search history.

Name origin

The word “bing” is onomatopoeic. It typically represents a sound of arrival or conclusion, such as the sound made when an elevator arrives. Microsoft indicated that the name Bing “was memorable, short, easy to spell, and that would function well as a URL around the world” and reminded people of the sound made during “the moment of discovery and decision making.” Steve Ballmer recently revealed in an interview with Wired magazine that his original inspiration for the name came from the character Chandler Bing from the popular US sitcom “Friends”.

Qi Lu, president of Microsoft Online Services, also announced that Bing’s official Chinese name is bì yìng (simplified Chinese: 必应; traditional Chinese: 必應), which literally means “very certain to respond” or “very certain to answer” in Chinese.

While being tested internally by Microsoft employees, Bing’s codename was Kumo, which came from the Japanese word for spider as well as cloud, referring to the manner in which search engines “spider” Internet resources to add them to their database, as well as cloud computing.