Microsoft Corp deepened its ties with social networking company Facebook Inc. on Wednesday, bolstering its fledgling Bing search engine in an effort to catch up with Google Inc., Reuters reported.

Bing has started taking data posted on Facebook, such as users’ “likes” or preferences, and will use that information to provide more relevant search results.

The connection between the world’s largest software company and the largest social network potentially pushes Web searches in a new direction.

It underscores the growing competition between Facebook, whose social networking site has 500 million members worldwide, and Google, whose search business has dominated the Web in recent years.

Analysts said the new social search features are unlikely to immediately boost Bing’s market share, but noted that the deal allows Bing to differentiate itself, with access to information that Google doesn’t currently have.

In other Internet news, AOL Inc. and top private equity firms are considering a bid for search engine company Yahoo Inc., according to The Wall Street Journal.