Microsoft is updating Bing for iPad with a useful new search feature called “Lasso.” It offers a simpler way to search in context — with your finger.

On any page within the Bing app (which is effectively a Safari browser alternative) users will be able to circle a word or phrase — hence the name “Lasso” –  and it will automatically search on that term or keyword in Bing. It’s not unlike a right-click search on the PC but on a tablet using your finger.

Users can return to the original story or content they were viewing in Bing with two swipes.

The Bing app for iPad should be available for download later today. As of this moment it’s not (1:20 Eastern). In general Bing for the iPad is a terrific application, which we discussed when it launched earlier this year.

Postscript: As Gary Price reminds me this is similar to Yahoo’s earlier “Sketch-a-Search” for the iPad, which was about designating a custom search area for restaurants on a map. And before that Ask offered similar custom map-based search on its now defunct Ask City product.

Related Topics: Channel: Mobile | Microsoft: Bing | Microsoft: Bing Mobile

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling

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