IT’S the most important launch of the year for small car buyers... the first official pictures of the new Ford Fiesta.

The Fiesta Zetec S edition will be revealed at the British Motor Show in a fortnight.

It’s now 32 YEARS since the first Fiesta was built in 1976. Since then the Fiesta is the small car that has been a key part of the British motoring scene with nearly 3.5million sales. And this is undoubtedly the best it has ever looked.

The Fiesta gets all the classy exterior styling that has turned the Mondeo and Focus into style icons.

It has the look of a mini-Mondeo with the slinky headlights, double grille and flared wheel arches.

But the cute and curvy rear gives the Fiesta its own distinctive style. Put the two together and you have a small car with more than a hint of Italian chic.

The Zetec S pictures unveiled are obviously even more sporty with 16in alloys, sports spoiler, front fog lamps and bumper skirts.

Although final interior pictures have yet to be released, I’ve seen inside and it’s outstanding for a small car. It’s very similar to the concept interior, below, but with brighter colouring matching the exterior paintjob.

The centre console looks very expensive with aluminium trim, while the main instrument dials are in a motorbike-style cowling.

The Fiesta also gets a tray for an MP3 player with built-in sockets for audio and USB cables.

New Microsoft Search Technology Could Help The Little Guy

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) researchers are developing technology to help small advertisers more successfully identify obscure Internet keywords, technology the software giant hopes could eventually boost the revenue it gets from Internet search advertising.

A tool being tested by Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft works by tracking the different search queries that lead Internet users to a Web site. The company's researchers are identifying less-obvious paths to a given destination. Microsoft thinks the technology could prove popular with smaller companies with limited marketing budgets when they bid for search keywords.

"This allows advertisers to bid on keywords which are cheaper but potentially very effective," said Ariel Fuxman, one of two researchers working on the project at Microsoft's Silicon Valley research lab in Mountain View, Calif.

The technology isn't currently in commercial use, but is one of a range of tools that could give the software giant a valuable tool to challenge Mountain View, Calif.-based Google Inc. (GOOG), whose search algorithm is widely regarded as the industry standard.

Google commands the Internet search market. In May, the company left competitors Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Microsoft far behind, taking 68% of all U.S. Web searches. Google's business model has been built on allowing advertisers to pay for keywords that searchers can click on to go to their sites, a formula which has rapidly become the cornerstone of the Internet economy. Google's supposedly superior search technology means advertisers pay richly for keywords they think will propel their Web sites to the top of a Google query - the primary access point to the Web for many consumers.

Microsoft is anxious to gain ground. Internet search advertising is the fastest-growing segment of the total advertising economy. EMarketer expects it to hit $10.4 billion by the end of 2008, up by 23% on 2007. Microsoft is pushing to build its Internet presence amid a wider shift toward Web-based distribution of computer applications, which may challenge the dominance of its core Windows operating system and Office software tools.

To improve search capabilities, Fuxman and colleague Panayiotis Tsaparas are exploring the relationship between queries and the Web addresses they generate. They have found some connections that could help entice smaller, less Web-savvy advertisers, many of which have tiny marketing budgets, into the Internet advertising ecosystem by offering alternative keywords that fall outside the radar of the big brand marketers.

The technology works by assessing the probability that a given query will lead to a particular Web site. In tests, the team found surprising results. For example, the team studied queries that led to the Web site "shoes.com." Some queries were obvious, like "running shoes." But others, like "Jessica Simpson Shoes" and "Chinese Laundry," demonstrated that indirect and even apparently irrelevant queries can still lead searchers to a Web site with a surprisingly high probability.

So, while athletic equipment makers will likely continue paying top dollar to get linked with the term "running shoes," a small, custom footwear maker may be able to generate greater sales by bidding on a more obscure keyword.

To be sure, it is unlikely this will immediately upend the economics of search advertising.

"The thing that tends to happen is that listings in top positions are the links that tend to get clicked on," says Greg Sterling, a consultant who specializes in Internet search technology. A similar approach is already being used by Google through its so-called "broad match" option, which allows advertisers to extend their campaigns by matching to keywords that some users don't necessarily want to buy. Sterling thinks the technology isn't likely to be a "game changer" for Microsoft, though it could improve the efficiency of paid search.

If the technology were to be used commercially by Microsoft, it would join a panoply of tactics the company is pursuing to improve its search capabilities and help it monetize advertising to the levels enjoyed by either Google or Yahoo.

Among those tactics is acquisitions. Since February, Microsoft has been in on- again, off-again talks to buy Yahoo. Last Monday, Microsoft said it would be interested in restarting talks if the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company's board is replaced, something activist shareholder Carl Icahn is trying to force.

Microsoft has also quietly bought up a bunch of small companies and is honing technologies to improve its search products. These include the acquisition of San Francisco-based Powerset Inc. and building relationships with computer manufacturers, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), to make its search engine the default on new computers.

The Silicon Valley researchers believe the application could help smaller companies build cheap but effective Internet search campaigns.

"It's true that big brands will probably continue to want to bid on the most obvious keywords," says Fuxman. "But the safe option is the most expensive. Only the large advertisers will be able to afford these keywords. We think bidding on less obvious keywords which are proven to generate traffic can help monetization and generate more sales.

Glitches for iPhone Launch in Britain

Mobile operator O2—Apple's iPhone partner in the UK—said the level of demand for the device caused its credit checking system to slow down across the country, forcing it to process some customers manually. The problem also meant Carphone Warehouse—the other retail outlet for the device in the UK, along with Apple and O2—had to switch to its own systems.

Despite the countrywide slowdown, an O2 spokeswoman said the operator was still able to process all its customers within the target 20-minute timeframe.

As of midday, the spokeswoman said O2 had sold out of 16GB iPhones in its Oxford Street store in London, adding: "We are selling in our biggest stores...40 [iPhone] handsets an hour—which is more contracts than we usually sell in a day. It's phenomenal."

However one iPhone customer, who was second in the queue to buy from a Carphone Warehouse shop in Canary Wharf this morning, told silicon.com problems with O2's system meant he had to spend an hour in the shop before he could leave with his phone.

A spokesman for the retailer confirmed there had been "an issue" with O2's system this morning. But he added: "We were able to switch to our own systems and to continue selling so there wasn't any disruption in our service."

Meanwhile, some iPhone hopefuls attempting to buy the device from Apple's Regent Street flagship story left empty-handed, according to silicon.com sister site, CNET.co.uk, after staff in the store were unable to access O2's network activation system.

HSBC home loans offer

Summer’s here and with it great offers on HSBC’s range of Home Loans. All HSBC customers who take up a Home Loan before 2 August have the option to avail themselves of six great offers namely; a repayment holiday for the first three months, a 50 per cent discount on the processing fee, free property insurance for the first year, free one month life cover on level term policies, a fee free Classic credit card with zero per cent interest for one year on purchases and a Flexicredit loan with zero per cent interest for the first year.

Customers taking Maxicredit loans during the summer offer period will also benefit from all the offers excluding that on Flexicredit. Also, during the Summer Offer period all new Home Loan customers will automatically take part in a competition in which fantastic Samsung prizes, made available in collaboration with Sound Machine Ltd, are up for grabs. The first prize is a 46-inch LCD TV with a wireless home theatre system, the second prize consists of a home appliances bundle including a fridge, washing machine and microwave; and the third prize is an 18,000 btu air conditioner. There are also seven Samsung video cameras or mobile phones for winners of the fourth to 10th prize.

“Purchasing one’s own residence is something we all dream of HSBC’s home loan propositions give our customers the possibility to realise those dreams as the options available ensure that there’s a Home Loan for everybody. Our Summer Offers provide new Home Loan customers with a range of discounts at a time when they really need them and are an added incentive for potential home owners to choose HSBC,” said Godfrey Swain HSBC’s Head of Personal Financial Services.