Microsoft Wants to Search, Destroy

Updated from 1:30 p.m. EDT

Microsoft(MSFT Quote) looks to be gearing up for a busy few months, potentially tackling rivals on multiple fronts.

Speculation is mounting that the software maker will overhaul its search engine strategy this week, unveiling "Bing," the successor to its Live Search offering.

The software giant will demo the search engine at the "D: All Things Digital" conference in San Diego, Calif., according to the New York Post, ahead of an official launch in June.

Microsoft, like Yahoo!(YHOO Quote), is looking to challenge Google's(GOOG Quote) dominance in online search. Google holds more than 60% of the market, according to the latest research from ComSource, and there continues to be talk of a possible Microsoft-Yahoo! partnership.

Last week Microsoft registered a limited liability company (LLC) in Delaware, a move that often precedes acquisitions or joint ventures. The software maker also raised $3.75 billion in its first-ever debt offering this month.

"The timing of the registration and recent debt raise indicate to us that it might be more likely Microsoft uses the LLC force a partnership to boost the amount of traffic flowing through its search engine," wrote Katherine Egbert, an analyst at Jefferies & Company, in a note released Tuesday.

The newly registered LLC could be the precursor to a Yahoo! deal. Microsoft has not yet responded to TheStreet.com's request for comment on the matter.

There is also some uncertainty about what Microsoft's search offering could be called, with "Kumo" also mentioned as a possible name.

Jefferies & Company analyst Katherine Egbert says that Microsoft is nonetheless planning an advertising blitz to publicize its search efforts.