Qi Lu

In a Q&A posted on Microsoft's site this morning, new Online Services Group president Qi Lu talks about why he joined the company and explains the opportunities he sees for its online initiatives. It's a piece of public relations -- not mentioning the possibility of a Yahoo search deal, for example -- but it nonetheless provides some insights into the mind of the executive now charged with ensuring the company's relevance in the online world.

For example, when asked about search trends and opportunities for the company, it's notable that Lu doesn't talk specifically about online shopping and other commercial search queries -- which have been a big focus for Microsoft Live Search in the past year.

Instead, he stresses the importance of improving product quality, building out Microsoft advertising platform, differentiating its search experience, and tapping into the explosion of data and content online.

"There is more and more rich and fresh content, and more engaging social content," he says. "So, there is a lot more material to work with. If we're able to understand user intent better, and combine that with the richer content available out there, we will be able to produce a very engaging search experience."

To its credit, the Microsoft Q&A doesn't avoid the biggest question: Is Google catchable? Lu's response:

"Well, we're here to win, and my view on this is that to win in the search space, fundamentally you build on the strengths of your product. And we know what it takes to build a compelling user experience and winning product, which is to have a powerful infrastructure, great talent and put great processes in place so that we can out-develop, out-market, out-innovate our competitors.

"But make no mistake; I think Google is a very, very powerful company. They are definitely ahead in the search space. There are a lot of challenges ahead. We've got our work cut out for us."