New search tool Google Squared goes live

Google Squared, a new search tool that Google described last month, is now live. Squared pulls information about members of a category from all over the Web and presents it in a table with rows and columns, instead of the series of page links typically returned by search engines.

A typical search on Google will return a list of relevant web sites, but users still have to visit ten to twenty Web sites to find information on complex questions, said Alex Komoroske, associate product manager for Google Squared in a post on Wednesday on Google's blog.

The experimental search tool Google Squared, on the other hand, collects information from different Web sites and presents it as an organized collection.

A search for U.S. states on Google Squared for example returns the names of the states in the first column, and pictures from the states, descriptions, the state's motto, information on population, and state birds in subsequent columns.

Users can customize the table to add a new column such as capital of the state or name of governor from a list provided, or add to the list.

The information on the grids on the table links to Web sites containng more detailed information on that particular aspect of the topic.

Users can also save the table using a Google account, and move on to the usual search on Google from within the same page.

The technology has just been released as part of Google Labs, and is by no means perfect, Komoroske said.

IDG News Service

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