Download Firefox, which is free, and use that instead of Internet Explorer - it offers the "tabbed" browsing that IE7 has finally got around to doing, which means that you can have the equivalent of multiple windows open in just one window.
There are many free "extensions" to FF's capabilities. Download and use "Search Engine Ordering". FF has a built-in search bar which comes with a number of engines set up. SEO allows you to order these and to add pretty much any other search engine or site search to the selection. You can open a new tab and then search wherever you want, and then click on your original tab. If you're just Googling, the FF Google toolbar search results will open in a new tab anyway, and you can also highlight words and right-click and search.
This is kinda hard to visualise, but take a look at the Firefox site - it'll give you a much better idea.