Microsoft has reportedly added a feature to Bing that allows the search engine to query the Internet for so-called real-time data, including postings from Twitter users.

Published: 03 Jul 2009

Microsoft has reportedly added a feature to Bing that allows the search engine to query the Internet for so-called real-time data, including postings from Twitter users.

"There has been much discussion of real-time search and the premium on immediacy of data that has been created primarily by Twitter," said Sean Suchter, general manager for Microsoft's Search Technology Center in Silicon Valley.

The company did not appear to work directly with Twitter to deliver the capability.

"We think this is an interesting first step toward using Twitter's public API to surface Tweets in people search," he wrote.

The first of the three major Internet search engines to include this functionality, Bing's move shows the importance Internet companies are attaching to "real time" blogging services like Twitter, and likely foreshadows an arms race as digital marketers try to make money searching through this content, highlighted Dow Jones. Real-time search, which is in its infancy, is regarded by Internet marketers as a promising source of future advertising revenue, due to the exploding popularity of services like Twitter.