Google offers multimedia uber-search

In its biggest ever revamp to its homepage, Google has launched its version of universal search - a redesign that will list in one place search results from a variety of media.

Combined with its other new features, universal search not only makes it easier to find relevant information in one place, it will put even more pressure on Google's competitors.

Instead of using separate search pages for photos, video, news, archived news, scanned books and other sources relevant to, say, "Steve Jobs", users of Google's universal search will find links to all of those sources in a single search attempt.

During a "Searchology" media event at the company's California headquarters, Marissa Mayer, Google's vice president of search products and user experience, said: "Now with universal search we can provide a more holistic answer."

To illustrate further, Mayer searched for the classic black-and-white horror film Nosferatu. The first result was a link to a popular film site, IMDB, and the second was a link to the actual movie, which can be played on the page in a window. A search for "I have a dream" will display results related to Martin Luther King Jr's famous civil rights speech, as well as to a video of the speech. The results will also include video from other sources such as video-sharing site Metacafe.

Other Google features were retuned. Some Google Oneboxes, which offer an instant result at the top of the search results to things like weather, will still be displayed, Mayer said. More significantly, the Google homepage will eventually have ads featuring more than just text: some will include video and display, Mayer said in remarks to reporters afterward. "That door has always been open," she said. "We don't have a particular timeline in place."

This is the first major revamp of the site and its underlying architecture in several years, said Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The work began about two years ago and more than half of the company's search efforts were devoted to it, adding that the site will continue to evolve. The changes will expose to more people some "underutilised" Google services, such as Book Search and Video search, and they will help boost the company's already huge market share, Brin said.

He added: "Our data says we not only are the best [search engine] but we're widening the gap." Google has about half of the market and is even the top web property globally, according to comScore.

Mayer also announced the addition of a Universal Navigation Bar at the top of Google search and other pages. Its purpose is to allow users to quickly get to other Google services. While Contextual Navigation Links - which appear at the top of the page right under the logo - allow people to drill down in search results.

Elinor Mills writes for CNET News.com