Searching photos over the net is not that easy, with users often falling on results they aren’t looking for, but now a new tool called Photobucket powered by Microsoft Silverlight hopes to get users to the photos they’re looking for fast.

The new search technique was developed in collaboration with Denver-based user experience agency EffectiveUI and Microsoft.

Photobucket Visual Search is a new Silverlight and Windows Live Services application that makes browsing through all those pictures a breezy experience. By integrating Photobucket rich interface with Windows Live Messenger and Silverlight application, it was able to create a unique new service.

Photos can now be shared instantly through Windows Live Messenger with a single click that allows you to enter the photographer’s library or search for more related to what you are looking for.

The new Photobucket visual search tool relies on metadata attached to each image by the person who uploaded it originally. Photobucket’s large media library shows precisely relevant results in conjunction with the end-users input.

Photobucket’s large media library allows for precisely relevant results, while the use of human input in the form of Meta tags allows the search tool to essentially “think laterally,” and display a wide range of results relevant to the search term, according to Microsoft.

Additionally, the application also takes the metadata and pushes it through Windows Live Search to come up with related terms for the images.

According to Rebecca Flavin, EffectiveUI’s chief executive officer, that entertainment value is a key differentiator for the competitive Web services market.

“Photobucket saw a really great opportunity to bring a better search option to its customers,” she says.

“The Silverlight platform enabled us to create a robust visual search engine that not only engages but draws multiple users into the application. We think this intuitive, enjoyable experience will really help differentiate Photobucket’s offering and keep people coming back.”

Photobucket has now hosting close to 8 billion photos since it was launched six years ago. It has now gained enormous popularity as an image-hosting and slideshow-creation site.

Microsoft Software