Reuters have reported a press statement made by Microsoft this week that claims their web search business remains on a "positive trajectory" - a suitably vague statement that could be interpreted any number of ways! This was supported by their claim that Windows Live Search gained market share over competitors in the quarter ended in June, although of course it remains a long way behind Google, particularly in the non-US market.

The company said that there are plans to roll out a series of updates over the next 12 months with new releases of the search platform and services. Microsoft is also trying to develop its AdCenter PPC service to gain share from Google AdWords and Yahoo!'s new-look Search Marketing service, although the underlying driver for making this grow will come from a bigger share of the search market to attract new advertisers.