MSN Portal Launches New Homepage
One Stop Shop for All Your Favourite MSN and Windows Live Services
London – UK – 25 September 2007 - MSN (http://uk.msn.com) today unveils a new Portal homepage which brings a personalised and integrated service to the millions of MSN Portal users across the UK. The new homepage now enables clearer navigation around the portal, easy access to Windows Live services including Windows Live Hotmail, Live Search, Windows Live Messenger as well as featuring new editorial content areas that showcase the best news, reviews, pictures and articles of the day.
Users will also be able to personalise their MSN homepage with a number of different features including weather and horoscopes.
Peter Bale, Executive Producer of Microsoft UK, comments “MSN’s home page is already the most popular commercial home page in the UK. We aim to make it more useful, more engaging and more powerful as a one-stop shop and a pathway into the deeper reaches of MSN.”
“We hope readers will take advantage of bringing their Hotmail, Messenger, blogging and other tools into the same view as their news and entertainment. “
“The MSN portal is evolving to meet the changing needs of a new, engaged information-hungry internet viewer. We’re keen to get as much feedback as possible from existing and new users – this is only the start of a range of improvements throughout the site.”
Key new features of the MSN homepage:
| • | Wide screen to optimise screen space |
| • | Clean, sharp use of colour to highlight features & content |
| • | New and improved Windows Live Search bar |
| • | Access to key Windows Live services from within the homepage itself plus cool new ways to customise how the page looks |
| • | What’s the weather? Customise your homepage |
| • | Check out the editor’s choice to see the best content on MSN today |
| • | Check your horoscope as you keep up with the day’s news |
| • | See today in pictures and get a snapshot of what’s going on this week in the news |
About MSN UK and Windows Live
MSN is a division of the Microsoft Corporation
MSN UK (http://uk.msn.com) attracts more than 21 million unique users in the UK per month. MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide.
Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web.
Windows Live and MSN provide a number of world class innovative communication and information services including:
| • | MSN Hotmail, the UK's most popular free web-based e-mail service with over 11.4 million users in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2007) and over 230 million active accounts worldwide (MSN Internal Data) |
| • | Windows Live Messenger, the UK's number one instant messaging service on the internet with14.9 million monthly users (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2007) and over 205 million active users worldwide (MSN Internal data) |
| • | Live Search, one of the UK’s top search sites with 5.6 million users. (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2007). Live Search is available worldwide and in 13 languages. |
| • | Windows Live Spaces, one of the leading blogging and social networking sites in the UK, has over 2.5 million users in the UK (Nielsen//NetRatings June 2007). Windows Live Spaces is one of the fastest growing communication networks in the world. |
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise their full potential.
| • | Visit the Microsoft UK homepage for further information on Microsoft products |
Contact information
Journalists should contact The Microsoft Press Centre. Telephone 0870 20 77377, lines are open 9.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Friday.
Customer enquiries should be directed to Microsoft on 0870 6010 100. Opening hours are 8.00am to 6.00pm.
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