EATTLE, Dec. 14 (Reuters) - Microsoft has released a preliminary version of its search tool for finding documents, e-mail messages and other files stored on personal computer hard drives.

The move Monday came as its rivals in the search arena, Google and Yahoo, were also releasing desktop search tools to attract more users to their search-related services.

"Our ambition for search is to provide the ultimate information tool that can find anything you're looking for," Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for Microsoft's Internet division, said.

Microsoft said it planned to deploy its new tool through a set of different toolbars that could be installed on the Windows desktop, the Internet Explorer browser and within Office Outlook on the e-mail, contacts and scheduling program.

The toolbar suite, which was released in test mode, can be downloaded from beta.toolbar.msn.com.

Google, the Web's top search engine, released its desktop search tool in October, and Yahoo said last week that its tool would be available in January.

Another search provider, Ask Jeeves Inc., bought the desktop search company Tukaroo Inc. in June and also said it would release a tool for desktop searches some time this month.