Billed as its "most significant home page redesign in over a decade", the rollout of the new site began yesterday (November 4th), but it will not be widely available to users until early 2010.

 

Instant access to Twitter and Facebook are also included in the latest version, while Microsoft claims to have reduced clutter by removing half of the links that can be found on the current portal.

 

The site has nearly 100 million visitors in the US every month and the company conducted "extensive consumer research" prior to implementing the new features, which also include local news and information sorted by postcode and in-line video.

 

"Customers told us they want the latest information from their favourite sources, their friends and the breadth of the web - and the new MSN home page delivers via a fresh new look," remarked Erik Jorgensen, corporate vice-president at Microsoft.

 

Microsoft has also announced the launch of MSN Music, which it is hoping will draw market share away from services such as Spotify.

 

The site was originally due to be made available at the end of July.