Wikipedia founder plans search engine to rival Google

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is working with Amazon to launch a search engine to rival Google, relying on human judgement rather than algorithms.

Wikiasari is scheduled to launch first quarter of 2007, backed by multimillion-dollar funding from Amazon.com and Silicon Valley financiers, reports the The Times of London. The name is taken from name from wiki, Hawaiian for "quick," and asari, Japanese for "rummaging search".

Wikiasari will use the same user-based technology as Wikipedia, an online encyclopaedia which allows readers to edit entries. The new search engine will work on a similar premise, with Wales claiming Google’s computer-based algorithmic searches are open to manipulation and are no match for human judgement.

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