Intellext on Friday introduced its personal research assistant - Watson 2.0 - as an MSN add-in, in a move that might help Microsoft compete with Google Sidebar, writes Red Herring. Watson tries to find relevant information on both the user's desktop and the internet while the user is working in applications such as Word or Internet Explorer, and offers up the search results in a sidebar without the user having to do a search.

Watson is available as a free download from Microsoft only for 30 days; thereafter, users must pay a subscription fee of $9.95 per month or $99.95 per year, or a permanent license for $239.95.

Desktop search has heated up with the emergence of providers such as blinkx and Copernic, and the need for search alongside other work on the desktop has motivated others, such as Google and Intellext, to provide desktop tools as well.