U.S. MSN Newsbot debuts

Microsoft today launched the U.S. version of its MSN Newsbot service, in preliminary form. The site, operated in conjunction with MSNBC.com, takes a personalized approach, offering people news based on stories they've viewed previously. Search Engine Watch offers an explanation of the technology in this story:

Recommendations for similar stories are made based on stories that other NewsBot users have read. "A great comparison is much like what Amazon does today," said Justin Osmer, product manager for MSN Search, citing Amazon's "Customers who bought this book also bought" feature.

Along those lines, see our previous story about Findory.com, the personalized news site launched by Greg Linden, a former Amazon employee who created the original technology behind the Amazon recommendation engine. He offers his initial take on the new Newsbot in this post today on his weblog.

Previously launched versions of Newsbot, targeted to other countries, are available through the MSN Sandbox site (third item down). For additional coverage, here's the MSN Newsbot search result for news on the U.S. launch.