Microsoft has outlined the alterations it will make to its Windows Vista desktop search feature, CNET News.com reports.The changes, which are coming with the first service pack to Windows Vista (SP1), are being made in order to satisfy antitrust concerns raised by the search engine Google.
Earlier this year, Google complained to US antitrust officials about Microsoft's built-in search tool, saying that it constrains Google's similar search programme.
According to CNET News.com, the most notable impact of the modifications will grant Vista users who opt for a non-Microsoft option for desktop search more outlets through which to see those search results, as opposed to results generated by the desktop search engine incorporated in Vista.
In an email to the online publication, a Microsoft representative said that the changes mean that "in addition to the numerous ways a user could access a third-party search solution in Windows Vista, they can now get to their preferred search results from additional entry points in the start menu and Explorer Windows in Windows Vista with SP1".
Microsoft added that, in order to enable access to the search applications, it will be necessary for search providers to register their service using the new protocol in Windows Vista SP1.
The software company is also set to release three documents intended to help the industry grasp the changes.
Microsoft intends to launch Windows Vista SP1 in the first quarter of 2008, according to reports in ChannelWeb.
