Google provides peek into new search engine

Google has lifted the lid on a new version of its search engine, allowing users to look at the results it will generate.

The new engine, available at a separate address, looks the same as the current one but ranks results differently, which could affect businesses who rely on Google results to drive traffic.

In a blog posting late Monday, Google Inc. says the new engine, code-named "Caffeine," will be faster, more accurate and more comprehensive.

The public testing of the new engine comes two weeks after Microsoft Corp. struck a deal to replace Yahoo Inc.'s search engine, with its own Google competitor, called Bing. Yahoo Search and Bing are the second and third most popular engines after Google.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal.)