In a move that will raise eyebrows, Mozilla is now distributing a version of Firefox that uses Bing as the default search provider instead of Google. Rest assured that this is a joint project, though: the creatively-named Firefox with Bing website is run by Microsoft, and both Mozilla and MS are clear that this is a joint venture.

Now, don’t get too excited — the default version of Firefox available from Mozilla.com is still backed by Google, and there’s no mention of an alternative, Bingy download anywhere on the site — but it’s worth noting that Mozilla has been testing Bing’s capabilities using Test Pilot over the last couple of months, and the release of Firefox with Bing indicates that Mozilla is now confident in Bing’s ability to provide a top-notch service to Firefox users.

See also: Google: Sting proves Bing copied search results

In short, Mozilla might be readying a large-scale switch to Bing when its current contract with Google expires in November. At this point, though, remember that Google is already missing from some localized builds of Firefox (Russian Firefox has Yandex as the default, for example), and Bing’s search results are only really comparable to Google in the US. In other words, Bing might become Firefox’s default search provider in the US but not elsewhere in the world.

See also: Mozilla Entering Mobile Operating System Market

It’s also worth noting that Firefox with Bing, unlike Yahoo Firefox or the other bastard children in circulation, is an official Mozilla build and will be updated accordingly. Firefox with Bing will receive security and version updates at the same time as normal Firefox. Except for the default search provider switch, Firefox with Bing is exactly the same as normal Firefox.

(Extreme Tech)

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