June 11, 2009, 3:18 PM — Fujitsu Laboratories of America has created a browser plug-in that pops-up a cloud of suggested query refinements around search engine boxes.
Called Xurch, the tool works with Firefox and Internet Explorer, as well as with several major search engines and some big sites, the company said Thursday.
Most search engines display suggestions for refining queries, so end users who try Xurch will have to decide if the Fujitsu plug-in is better enough at this to justify using it.
Xurch comes up with its query suggestions using Yahoo's BOSS (Build Your Own Search Service) and Fujitsu Laboratories algorithms.
The plug-in currently works with search boxes in "several dozen" Web sites, including Google, Yahoo, Bing, MSN, WebMD, CNN and Amazon.com.
Xurch, which is currently in beta, or test, mode, can be downloaded for free.
