The founder of Wikipedia which is a user-edited online encyclopedia is preparing to launch a search engine in early 2007, a new rival of Google and Yahoo engines, according to media reports Wednesday.

Jimmy Wales, the founder, announced plans of the search engine, to be named "Wikiasari," or "Wikia," for short, in a Saturday online posting. The name Wikisari, is a melding of wiki and the Japanese word asari, which means "rummaging search."

The engine will leverage the user-driven model that has contributed to the massive success of the Wikipedia.

The Wikimedia Foundation of St. Petersburg, Fla., which manages the Web site Wikipedia.com, emphasized that the search engine project is not associated with the foundation.

The project will be funded by Amazon.con and Silicon Valley financiers, according to reports.

Can Wikipedia create success out of a search engine in the same way it did for its encyclopedia? Wales believed the reputation of Wikipedia and the transparency of its approach will attract searchers.

Moreover, Wales said, "Google is very good at many types of search, but in many instances it produces nothing but spam and useless crap." So "Wikia" as "a new kind of search engine, which relies on human intelligence to do what algorithms cannot" will be very competitive.

Source:Xinhua/Agencies