The newly redesigned MSN.com just might be the best home page on the Web — with easy access to Bing search, favorite social networks, more relevant local content, and the latest news and entertainment information from trusted sources.

Microsoft today unveiled a preview of its new design for the popular MSN home page. With a fresh new look, the new MSN is designed to be the best home page on the Web.

With more than 600 million customers worldwide every month, nearly 100 million in the U.S. alone, MSN helps connect people to the information that matters most to them from familiar and trusted sources. In response to feedback from customers asking for easier access to the latest information from their friends, favorite sources and hot Web topics, the new home page provides quick access to powerful Bing search, favorite social networks, more relevant local information, and the latest news and entertainment information — all in one location.

“More than half of people online start their sessions on sites like MSN and they told us they want simplicity — yet still want the latest information and their favorite services delivered together,” said Lisa Gurry, senior director, MSN. “With our large audience and sophisticated technology, we were able to gather a tremendous amount of customer feedback to ensure we delivered the online experience customers are really craving.”

The new home page has 50 percent fewer links, and is focused on providing access to the information and services people care about most. It is designed for simpler navigation across the top five information areas for customers: entertainment, news, sports, lifestyle and finance. Premium content is supplied through partnerships with MSNBC, FOX Sports, Hearst, Rodale, Meredith, Mayo Clinic and more, as well as bloggers and social media sites.

The new MSN home page also offers a deeper search experience through powerful integration with Bing, helping people make faster and more informed decisions and easily find the information they want from anywhere on the Web. Bing is deeply integrated as the core search service throughout the home page, via key areas such as shopping, travel and local, and as a way of highlighting hot topics, trends or people.

Convenient access to social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, is also available from the new home page, eliminating the need for people to jump from one site to another to update their status or see what their friends are up to.

The new MSN home page also incorporates comprehensive local information, offering more real-time community news than any other home page. Included is a new offering, MSN Local Edition, which provides the latest information on local weather, news, sports, entertainment and dining, and traffic and events, grouped by ZIP code.

The new home page offers inline high-quality streaming video, employing Silverlight technology, from more than 300 sources including Hulu, National Geographic and FOX Entertainment Group.

“The time was right for us to make a big bet, and our approach needed to be bold,” said Gurry. “Today is an important transformation for MSN, and it’s only the beginning.”

Photo credit: The new home page provides easier access to powerful Bing search, favorite social networks, more relevant local information, and the latest news and entertainment information — all in one location. The new MSN butterfly represents a fresh new approach for MSN and is the cornerstone of the new design. Courtesy of MSN.