... Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales has set Jan. 7 as the launch date for an open-source search project, dubbed Wikia Search, that eventually hopes to challenge Google and other established players. The Wikia Search project has assembled the basic technologies for a search engine, including a search application, search algorithm and Web crawler. The project will allow technology enthusiasts to help filter sites and rank search results, using a community model akin to that of Wikipedia. The idea is to challenge the established players by offering a search service that is more transparent to end users, meaning they can see how search results are arrived at. Wales has described Yahoo and Google as opaque services that don't explain how results are arrived at. ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/24/AR2007122401567.html -- http://users.ntua.gr/karounos/ - skype: karounos