Microsoft demonstrates new hard drive search tool

Microsoft demonstrates new hard drive search tool SEATTLE, July 29 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News), which is challenging market leader Google Inc (News - Websites) . in the online search market, demonstrated for the first time on Thursday a search engine that looks for information on computer hard drives as well as information on the Web. The world's largest software maker had hinted before that it was interested in offering search technology for information beyond the Web, but Microsoft vice president Yusuf Mehdi gave the clearest signal yet that Microsoft would enter the local hard drive search space, considered the next battleground among search technology providers. "We will be able to search beyond the Web in a very fast fashion," Mehdi told analysts and reporter gathered at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, headquarters for its annual analysts meeting.