Microsoft Corp., world largest software maker, introduced its desktop search feature on Monday, taking aim at Google with its beta desktop search functionality.

The desktop search feature market is in its infant stages, but has quickly gained exposure from users. Many online influencers are launching their own versions of desktop search feature after their competitor’s announcement. Yahoo announced its plans to introduce a similarly featured product next month, in January 2005. AOL will also offer their desktop search feature sometime next year; and Ask Jeeves launched its product this week.

Microsoft claims their desktop search feature to be better in a sense that it is integrated into their Windows operating system, which, according to Microsoft, gives them an edge over competition.

The company’s desktop search feature is branded under their MSN brand, codenamed MSN Toolbar Suite. Thus far, the product is in its beta stages.

Microsoft’s search functionality find words in e-mails, instant messaging conversations, PDF documents with support for various other searches. Google currently does not support searching in PDF documents, but does have the functionality to store all web pages viewed by the user.

Instead of web-based graphical user interface, Microsoft’s utility works independently in a local mode. It is also different, as it searches the program locally.

Microsoft’s service does not allow searching in web pages, which Google supports. And the software giant’s desktop search feature can search network drives that Google’s service can’t.

Much of this has to do with the fact that Microsoft can take advantage of the core code in Windows operating system that Google and other similar service providers does not have access to.