Search engine Ask Jeeves said today that it
will take on market leader Google by using a newly
developed search technology which it claims is superior.
Whereas search engines rate sites by the popularity of other sites linking to
and from them, the technology from Ask Jeeves rates the source of each link.
Using this method it hopes to find communities of information rather than just
the most popular sites.
"The search engine market is now down to four sites: Google, Ask Jeeves,
Yahoo and Microsoft," Tony Macklin, vice president for European products at Ask
Jeeves, told vnunet.com.
"Since 1998 there hasn't been a search engine launched that has had more than
a million users a month, so it's down to the big four to compete on the strength
of their technology."
Ask Jeeves is also adding other services to compete in the market. Users can
create search profiles and email the results to friends, and a page preview
service claims to cut the number of clicks per search by 50 per cent.
Other improvements due this year include a mapping service, the option of
expanding or narrowing searches and a database of 2,500
celebrities.
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