MSN Blocks Pop-ups with Toolbar Beta

Taking a page from search rival Google, Microsoft has issued its own MSN Toolbar for testing. A beta release of the toolbar featuring a pop-up blocker, highlighter search tool and MSN Web services is now available for download.

Like similar wares provided by its competitors, buttons on the MSN toolbar provide one-click access to Hotmail, MSN Messenger, the My MSN Home Page, MSN Search, and MSNBC.com.

Additional menus provide content ranging from entertainment, to Encarta, MSN Money, shopping, and even a directory. Microsoft has also designed a customizable pop-up blocker with optional sound effects and statistics.

To enhance searches, the highlight viewer showcases selected text throughout the body of a search query in its own pane.

"The MSN Toolbar enables people to easily access their favorite services regardless of their online location," said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for MSN Personal Services. "By offering innovative services like the Highlight Viewer tool and seamless access to world-leading communication services like MSN Hotmail and MSN Messenger, we’re helping people be more efficient online."