Close on the heels of “Google Base”, Microsoft is set to foray into online classifieds with “Fremont” – a service which will focus on classified announcements of products and services for sale, by individuals or commercial entities without a Web presence.
“Fremont” has reportedly been available in test form to Microsoft employees since last week, and is expected to launch in a couple of weeks from now.
Microsoft’s “Fremont”, which derives its name from a Seattle neighborhood hosting a busy Sunday market, has been tested by MSN – the company’s online services arm.
“Fremont” will allow users to enter details of personal items in a specially designed database. The database information will either be made search-able by Microsoft’s internet search engine, or will be restricted to a limited group of personal contacts.
In many ways, “Fremont” echoes “Google Base”, which is also a structured database inviting users to enter information in a prescribed format.
However unlike Google, which has apparently not given any thought as to how users will control the data that they feed into Google Base, “Fremont” promises to give users the ability to restrict access to information to particular groups of people. “Fremont” will be integrated with other MSN services, such as the Messenger instant messaging service.
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