BetaNews has learned that by the time that AOL Desktop Search exits private beta testing, it will be capable of doing much more than its name suggests.

America Online intends to provide its subscribers with a method to seamlessly search across a circle of content: files from computer hard drives, members-only content and the Web.

Currently, AOL Desktop Search is only available as an integrated feature of the AOL Browser and will not function as standalone software.

Powered by Copernic desktop search technology, AOL Desktop Search indexes and retrieves files formatted as Microsoft Office documents, as well as PDF, HTML, WordPerfect, rich text and plain text.

Once the software advances, users will be able to search through Web pages they have previously viewed in Internet Explorer, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) chat logs, locally stored newsgroups and Web logs, as well as digital media and pictures.

AOL Desktop Search was first reported by BetaNews.