Microsoft has launched a preview of an MSN personal homepage that apparently builds on the portal's My MSN service, opening it up with an option to add content from elsewhere on the web, InternetWeek reports. Start.com is a look into how Microsoft will compete with Yahoo and Google. All three provide options for aggregating news, weather, sports, entertainment and other web content, as well as RSS feeds. The personal homepages package the various content into modules that can be arranged by the user.

Microsoft's latest offering, as well as those from Google and Yahoo, includes web search, a major attraction for online advertisers and a market that Microsoft entered late, behind Google and Yahoo. Start.com works only on Microsoft's Internet Explorer, but support for Firefox is planned.