Microsoft's position in the online search market improved substantially in the days following the introduction of its new search engine Bing, according to a very preliminary analysis by comScore.

The study found that during the first week of Bing's public launch, Microsoft Sites increased its average daily penetration among US searchers from 13.8% during the period of May 26-30, to 15.5% during the period of June 2-6, 2009, reports MarketingCharts.

This increase, comScore said, is an indication that the search engine is reaching more people than before.Microsoft's share of search result pages in the US, a proxy for overall search intensity, also increased from 9.1% to 11.1% during the same time frame.

"These initial data suggest that Microsoft Bing has generated early interest, resulting in a spike in search engagement and an immediate term improvement to Microsoft’s position in the search market," said Mike Hurt, comScore SVP. "So far it appears that the lifts in searcher penetration and engagement have held relatively steady throughout the five-day period."

Hurt cautioned that, although Bing appears to be off to a good start, its ultimate performance will depend upon the extent to which it attracts and grows its trial user base.

Google remains the undisputed search-share leader by all measures. If Bing takes off in any big way, it could have a dramatic effect on the way information is delivered and may ultimately force marketers to change the way they measure results.