Another executive is leaving Microsoft"s Internet search group as the company continues to struggle to compete with Web search leader Google. Dane Glasgow, general manager of Windows Live Search, is leaving the company, a spokesman for Microsoft confirmed on Wednesday. Last month, Microsoft acknowledged the departure of its highest-ranking search executive, Christopher Payne, corporate vice president of Windows Live Search.
Microsoft has invested heavily in recent years to develop its own Internet search engine and accompanying search advertising platform in an effort to compete with Google and Yahoo and benefit from the fast growth in online advertising. However, the results have been disappointing. Microsoft lags in a distant third place in Web search usage, and it hasn"t been able to capitalize as much as expected from the boom in search engine advertising. In an apparent attempt to leverage its strong presence in the enterprise to lift its Web search usage, Microsoft last month acknowledged it is offering financial incentives to large enterprise customers whose employees use Microsoft"s Live Search engine.