The search software Wikia Search will be rival to Google and Yahoo

15th March 2007

Creator of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales said that search software, which is now being elaborated by Wikia, will be a serious rival to Google and Yahoo, and will take at least 5% of the search software market. Unlike free internet- encyclopedia, Wikia Search will be a commercial project. Its development was known at the end of last year, then it was planned to be called as Wikiasari. At the last press conference in Tokyo Wales described the search systems of Google and Yahoo as "black boxes", meaning by it their closed technologies of ranging search results. New search system Wikia Search, vice versa, will be based on the principle of making ratings of pages not by algorithms, but by the users themselves. The first three results will be given directly from the "Wikipediaâ€, then in descending order other sites will be ranked by frequency of links to them. Wales stressed that this approach should bring fundamental change to the bedrock basis of search systems, as in this case, search system will be constantly improved by users themselves. Thus, Wikia Search will be safeguarded against spammers, unlike Google and Yahoo always displaying â€œgarbageâ€ results. Wikia Search will be built on the same software that Wikipedia, but more focused on specialized subjects than the encyclopedia. Wales said that the project has support of about $ 4 million from private investors, and large investments from the Amazon Company, reports Reuters. However, the developer of a free encyclopedia denied rumors that the Amazon has anything to do with creation of a search system.