Dawn of the Google-killer

Wikipedia’s new search engine has potential, says linton chiswick

Monday saw the arrival of a much-anticipated new search engine by Jimmy Wales, the people's internet entrepreneur who brought us Wikipedia. It's called Search Wikia, it's been touted as a 'Google-killer', and - like Wikipedia - it relies on all of us to make it work.

Somewhere between the robotic Google and the people-powered Mahalo, Search Wikia uses a mixture of automated search algorithms and a Digg-style voting system to produce results that real people can continue to fine tune

over time. The website's social aspect extends to (optional) user-membership accounts, where members can list their special interests and then appear in a sidebar when somebody searches a subject relevant to them. The intention is to personalise the web and

connect people with similar interests or particular expertise. Each page of results is topped by a 'Mini Article'... a Wikipedia-style summary, written and edited by users.

Does it look like a Google-killer? Not right now. My own test searches have proved deeply disappointing, and Search