Windows Live services and applications were honorably discharged from "beta" status this week as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) gave the entire world full access to www.live.com, along with releasing email addresses at the live.com domain name. Get yours today!

In addition to officially launching Windows Live, the world's largest software maker is preparing an online advertising blitz that will reach "billions" over the next few months, according to the company. In terms of actual impressions to customers, the company expects about 10 billion of them through the end of the year (roughly). That's quite a push, yes?

Windows Live is Microsoft's attempt to offer a complete suite of online tools from email to maps to social networking to instant messaging -- and all available from a single "dashboard" where all products are cross-promoted and fully integrated. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been doing this too in the last year, part of its iGoogle initiative.

This is being seen as Microsoft's largest effort yet to recruit and keep eyeballs to its cross-linked array of consumer web offerings so it can glean more advertising revenues from those eyeballs a la Google AdWords. The software maker is well behind its rival, in seeing revenue from advertising, but it is making progress here. Time will tell if it is enough progress.

DISCLOSURE: I own MSFT shares as of 11-8-07.

As Doug McIntyre wrote yesterday, Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) increased its web search popularity in the U.S. pretty dramatically in March. While Google continues to make headway with web search volume (and making quite a bit of money within that market), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have (so far) shown that they are not making any solid gains on Google. A distant player, Ask.com, owned by Barry Diller's InterActive Corp. (NASDAQ: IACI), maintains about 4% of the web search marketplace.

Will any other search engine ever seriously challenge Google? For the near future, probably not. Yahoo! is in the business of building relationships with paying customers (Terry Semel's vision, I think) and Microsoft has a pretty diversified product and revenue stream, although Windows and Office are the main cash cows. Do they need to complete with Google better? They should be (although not a die-hard requirement), and both companies are probably tired of Google riding off into the sunset with all that cash. Microsoft's constant claim that its Live.com search engine is central to its strategy may be fine, but actions speak louder than words. Where are the actions?

Google has an enormous first-mover advantage here. Not because it was first with a search engine index, but because it was first with a search engine with text ads that customers not only found unobtrusive, but helpful in many cases. That alone is why Google is where it is, and why the other companies can't keep up.

With Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) coming out of the dark a little and releasing its new search portal www.live.com to the world, will the world notice? Live.com features Microsoft's new AdCenter ad platform meant to try and replicate Google's success in the ad market as well as recruit new users of Microsoft's online offerings.

If the world does notice, it will be when Windows Vista is released, as I am sure there will be a million hooks into Live.com from within Vista. Microsoft needs to bridge its local software with the online world and Microsoft Office Live is a major proving ground.

Well, just how alive is live? Being the successor to MSN Search, it will start out as a distant third place to Google and Yahoo! in online searches. Live.com must not only be available and work almost without fail, but Microsoft is also going to have to market and advertise this service heavily if it expects to gain any headway on Google.

But I found Live.com to be very lively. I've tested it and the interface is slick, the results are great and fast, and the presentation is very good. These things -- however -- will not make up for the fact that Google beat Microsoft by years to this party. Is Live.com going to be relevant and popular with consumers, regardless of how good it is?

That is the billion-dollar (advertising) question. Microsoft surely hopes this is not just a product that will become less relevant as time goes by. Microsoft has been in a mode of "catch up" lately, and this may seem, to many, as just another "me too" product. Google's enormous brand equity won't be easy to battle, even for the world's largest software company. If Windows Vista goes wild with sales soon, Live.com may get the attention it is seeking. Until then, I'll be watching and waiting.