This week you may have noticed that instead of the minimalist and efficient white backdrop you have become accustomed to seeing on Google you found an image dominating the screen. Ok so it looks good, although some of the photography was not to my taste, its a change right?

Well wrong, as this idea seems to be a blatant pinch from the boff’s over at Bing.com who launched their stunning search engine with a daily theme that actually works fantastically well. I have read in reports that some schools actually start the day by reviewing the pic of the day on Bing and following the links to the facts and information that accompanies the image.

I have to say I do love the looks and functionality of Bing however due to the market dominance of Google I am forced to pay more attention to their moves than anyone else. Personally I welcome competition to Google and hope that it helps web design of the future to be more original and less based on what Google thinks of it and how it will position in their search engine.

After Google’s little stunt, I for one can’t help but wonder if they may have lost some users to Bing due to sympathy and to the highlight they have had in the press over this.