Sean Suchter, general manager of Microsoft's Search Technology Center, wrote on the Bing blog Wednesday that the search engine is "unveiling an initial foray into integrating more real-time data into our search results, starting with some of the more prominent and prolific Twitters from a variety of spheres."

Gore, Seacrest, More

These initial Twitterers, he wrote, include former Vice President Al Gore, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, and notables in search technology and business. Microsoft will update Twitter results every 60 seconds, using the Twitter API. Initially, Bing will only be indexing a few thousand Twitterers, based on follower count and number of tweets.

As an example, Suchter said a user could type "Kara Swisher Twitter," "Kara Swisher Tweets," or even "@karaswisher" as a search query and the results would show the latest tweets for Swisher, as well as a link to "see more tweets." Swisher is a Wall Street Journal tech columnist.

Brad Shimmin, an analyst with industry research firm Current Analysis, said Bing is joining the parade of search engines that allow users to query real-time information, with some engines specifically designed for that function. Twitter profiles and older tweet streams are searchable on many engines, but Bing is reportedly the first to allow Twitter to be searched in this way.

"This isn't revolutionary," he said, but is part of a search-industry trend as it recognizes that the Web isn't static, but includes many forms of real-time or near-real-time communications . The realization, he said, began with search engines including blogs, and has now moved to include Facebook postings and other very frequently updated, Web-based communications.

He added that this new feature is also Microsoft trying to offer more features after "Bing got off to a slow start."

No Context for Many Tweets

Shimmin noted that many Twitter streams have no context, and are essentially snippets of the creator's thought stream. But, he pointed out, Twitter has evolved so that many users offer informational tweets that sometimes contain links. He said he searches Twitter for people he follows, and that, for events like trade shows, tweets are much closer to real-time coverage than even frequently updated Web pages.

Bing, which launched June 4, is Microsoft's attempt to regain search-market share that it has lost, primarily to Google. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant describes Bing as "a new search decision experience" that is initially focusing on the key user tasks of making a purchase, planning a trip, researching a health condition, or finding a local business.

Google has an estimated 65 percent of the search market in the U.S., Yahoo about 20 percent, and Microsoft about eight percent, according to ComScore.