Is Qi Lu Microsoft's Search Engine Savior?

Qi Lu has had more than his fill of losing to Google. For a decade, the technologist led development of Yahoo!'s Internet search technology and watched Google eclipse his company to become the Internet's brightest star. He left Yahoo in August with vague plans to start a company or return to his native China. Then Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer came calling. He wanted Lu to consider taking over Microsoft's online operations and lead the charge against Google one more time. Ballmer promised the company was willing to invest vast resources to compete, even if it took years to pay off. "The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a duty," says Lu, during an interview at the software giant's Redmond (Wash.) headquarters on a balmy May day. "There's a chance—a genuine chance—that we can make the search landscape a whole lot more competitive and healthy."

He may be one of the few people who believe that. But Microsoft is giving Lu more backup than he's ever had before. On May 28, the company was set to unveil an ambitious new search offering called Bing. Instead of just finding promising Web links, the site is designed to help consumers more easily make complex decisions—like what car to buy or where to go on vacation. The goal is to create a loyal base of fans who routinely use Bing for certain types of queries, rather than default to Google. To support the launch, Microsoft is gearing up its biggest search marketing blitz ever, one that could run as much as $100 million. "We're going [to show] consumers that the two guys that really care about helping you navigate the Internet are us and Google," says Ballmer "This will be the first time we will step out and say, 'We're not just sort of a general online player. We're really a player in search.' "