Really, this is just what I need. Another search engine. This weekend, Microsoft launched its new Bing - essentially a revamped version of its Live Search.

I am such a creature of habit that I find it hard to break away from thingsI get comfortable with. It took a long time for me to move from Alta Vista to Google. I briefly tried out Cuil, but then went back to Google. Now I have a chance to Bing.

One of the biggest differences appears to be the way Bing picks your search results. Instead of just getting a bunch of definitions and related Web sites, you’ll also see a selection of sites where you can buy things related to your query.

Bing, according to Microsoft, is designed to deliver a more functional experience than existing search engines, including Google’s. That is, queries entered into Bing yield not only information related to the search term, but also links to sites where users can make purchases and engage in other related activities.

How does this play out? I typed in “Angels and Demons” into Bing. As is the case with Google, I get the typical links to Wikipedia, official movies sites and fan pages. But what comes up first is a list of nearby theaters and show times. Ok, that’s pretty handy.

But how often do I need that? I buy enough things online as it is. Not really sure I need someone else making constant suggestions to buy more.

And not everyone is thrilled with this. David Coursey at PC World was critical of the engine and its “cashback” feature that’s supposed to encourage shopping through the site.

Even if Bing knows about the product I am interested in, which so far it most often does not, Bing then makes a fool of itself. It’s “cashback” feature is most often, again in my experience, associated with laughably high prices. Great, the product costs 20 percent more and Microsoft will give me 5 percent back. What sort of deal is that? Call it getting Binged.