07 Jun 10

Microsoft unveils new look MSN portal

With a more simplified and functional design, MSN’s new homepage went live in the UK last week, following similar re-launches in the US and Brazil, and the announcement of new versions of Windows Live Messenger and Hotmail earlier this year.

According to the portal’s editor Matt Ball, MSN’s content “covers breaking news and topical issues, exclusive interviews, bespoke features and celebrity gossip – making MSN one of the UK’s favourite web portals.”

As well as being faster to download, Microsoft hopes to make the new MSN homepage indispensable for its users through better integration with popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, with users now able to update their status from within the homepage.

This overhaul follows a similar move by Yahoo, who carried out a revamp of their portal last year – enabling brands to builds apps on their pages in order to augment advertising revenue. Microsoft will hope other companies will follow in the footsteps of big-name brands such as PepsiCo, who have recently bought several high-profile takeovers on their MSN portal.

Reaching 62% of the UK audience with 20.6 million unique users every month (Comscore), MSN’s figures indicate the continued popularity of portals amongst the internet population. Microsoft will no doubt be looking to further increase these numbers during the latter part of 2010.