Microsoft Office 2010 Professional Kiev and Kumo

As Microsoft inches nearer to the anticipated June rebranding and launch of the newest iteration of its lookup engine, business officials are sharing selective bits and pieces of what the Redmondians are planning.In an April eight Wall Street Journal story about Microsoft;s search-branding issues , Yusuf Mehdi, the Senior Vice President of Microsoft’s On the internet Audience Enterprise Group, talked about “Kiev.” Kiev, a codename I first heard about through LiveSide, seems to be the uber-brand for Microsoft;s upcoming search release. Kumo, the codename for the search-engine component,Microsoft Office 2010 Professional, is one piece of Kiev, Mehdi confirmed together with the Journal.(Other Kiev components, I;ve heard,Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, include the vertical search areas where Microsoft has been focusing its attentions — product lookup,Microsoft Office Professional 2007, celebrity lookup, travel and healthcare. I;m not sure what the codenames are for the next releases of each of those elements….or if each vertical has a separate codename.)From what I;m hearing from various quarters, “Kumo” is looking less and less likely to be the final new name for Live Search. Users, current and potential,Microsoft Office 2010 Professional, just don;t seem that keen on it. Bing is now sounding like the leading candidate. (But Bing also could end up as the new brand for Microsoft local search/mapping, based on how Microsoft recently applied for the Bing trademark.)Unless Microsoft has yet another search name hidden away,Microsoft Office 2010 Professional, I;m now betting Bing is not just a “Plan B” but is likely to be Microsoft;s new lookup brand.