Microsoft-owned Bing is taking internet search to a whole new level by integrating support for emoji characters.
Bing, the Microsoft-owned internet search engine, is trying to give more power to its online users and the luxury of searching the web using emoji characters. The new option, which isn't available on the world's largest web search engine Google, will allow internet users to search for the meanings of unknown emoji characters or even look for great places for donut or a sushi restaurant by using their respective icons.
The importance of emoji support for internet search can be found on mobile devices, especially for the abundant use of smiley characters for communication on various mobile chat apps. The shorthand language has become a trend and is a fun way to convey a message without using words, which fits right along with the popular saying of how a picture speaks a thousand words.
"Today, we are announcing the support of emoji characters in Bing search in all English markets," Nick Roberts, Senior Program Manager of Bing Relevance & Intent, said in a post on the official Bing Blog, Monday. "With this new feature, you can search using your favorite emoji, and Bing will return results based on the semantic meaning of the emoji."
Bing also posted screenshots of various examples on how emoji icons can be used in a meaningful way to search the web. For instance, using an emoji for a donut while looking for best donut in Seattle or getting ideas for bridal shower or even using the country flags and getting detailed information about them.
For most part, there are several emoji characters that can be rather confusing. For example, the Narutomaki is a cured fish dish in Japan and Dango, which resembles a lollipop, is a Japanese sweet. Folks at PC World conducted a quick test to verify the emoji search and found interesting results. According to the publication, an airplane with a helicopter brought up the Wikipedia page for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey military aircraft.
Bing's emoji support is currently available to all English users. Yahoo search already supports emoji on its search site.
