Most people would agree that a little jolt of caffeine is just what the body needs to kick into high gear and start moving a bit faster in the morning.Apparently, caffeine can have the same effect on Google Inc.'s search engine.
Caffeine is actually the internal code name for a "secret" upgrade to Google's search technology, one the company says is designed to help users scour the Web faster, while returning more results with greater accuracy and comprehensiveness.
According to a post on the Google Webmaster Central blog, the new upgrades sit "under the hood" of the Google search engine, so most users won't immediately notice a big difference in their search results.
"But Web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a Web developer preview to collect feedback," wrote Google software engineers Sitaram Iyer and Matt Cutts.
Although Google maintains a stranglehold on the market for Web queries both in the United States and around the world -- accounting for 65% of U.S. searches in June, according to comScore Inc. -- the Mountain View, Calif. company has recently ceded some of the search engine spotlight to Microsoft Corp.
Microsoft first earned kudos from developers and a significant amount of buzz from the online community after releasing a revamped version of its search engine, Bing, in June and then following it up by striking a deal with Yahoo Inc. to provide search technology on sites owned by the Web pioneer on July 29.
Bing is seen by many as Microsoft's best search offering to date, while the Yahoo deal gives the world's largest software company access to about 28% of the overall search market, presenting a more formidable opponent for Google.
Google is inviting developers to test out its technology upgrades and offer their thoughts on the differences between caffeine and Google's traditional search engine, including feedback on which sites are ranking higher or lower in the new system.
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