Bing entertainment hub launched
Microsoft's search engine Bing has created a series of channels dedicated to providing surfers all they should need to get the most out of their hobbies online.
Four new functions have been designed to cover music, film, TV and gaming. Music fans can now get full lyrics, photos, videos and tour dates as well as full-length streaming for five million songs.
Bing has partnered with Microsoft's Zune music service so that surfers can listen to each of the songs in full once. After that they will get a 30-second preview as well as the option to buy the track from Zune, iTunes or Amazon.
Gamers can get in-depth reviews, cheats and walkthroughs of over 35,000 games. They can now also play nearly 100 of the most popular casual games online within the search engine, minimising the risk of malware. Social features have also been added so you can invite friends to play with you.
TV fans can search a comprehensive list of full-length TV episodes from over 1,500 shows and where it is safe to watch them online. It also features local TV guide schedules for various service providers.
And movie lovers can find out where and when films are being shown with parking facilities, Bing Maps, nearby restaurants and real-time traffic information included. There are also reviews and real-time Twitter and Facebook comments.
The dedicated music, games and films searches are available now with TV listing due in a couple of weeks, the company said.
Bing's decision to offer these services was based on a study in which it found that 76 per cent of people use search engines to find and manage their entertainment options online with only 10 per cent saying they have a trusted place to go.
A spokesman said: "We see a great opportunity to help customers make important entertainment decisions - from deciding what movie to buy or see, which TV shows to watch online or on your TV, what music to listen to, how to find and safely play your favorite casual games."
"Bing is making a first step today to help make entertainment on the web easy and fun, so you spend less time searching for entertainment and more time doing the stuff you love," he continued.
