There's no question that Microsoft has led the pack in software development. But in one area, the computer giants have been forced to play catch up -- search engines. Google has been the leader worldwide, so much so that the word itself has become a lexicon.

Bill Gates wants to change this, and to that end, Microsoft has developed their own search engine and is ready to put it to market. Hundreds of people have been testing the program for the past three months and developers have been 'tweaking' the software for release.

The program was in development for a year and a half and can be accessed through the msn.com site. The Microsoft program takes Google one step further, allowing users to ask questions and receive answers. Additionally, music can be downloaded by clicking on a link.

The stakes are incredibly high. Yesterday, Google announced its fourth quarter earning for 2004 at $204.1 million. In the same period in 2003, they earned $27.3 million.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Direction Microsoft points out that, 'Microsoft just saw Google taking more and more share from MSN, and so the company couldn't depend on the technology it had licensed from Yahoo to fend off Google.' Let the games begin!