Meet Ms. Dewey By: Jason Hahn - Topic: Web - Date: November 20, 2006

Have you met Ms. Dewey yet?

Well, if you haven't, check her out.

Just like Google's SearchMash, Microsoft is offering Ms. Dewey as a kind of secret search engine that is ever-so-subtly linked to the tech giant.  (Notice the very camouflaged "powered by Live Search" in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.)

If you play around with Ms. Dewey, you're sure to have some fun.  She has a few introductions, comments on your search query, and does/says random things while you are idle on the site.

Oh yeah, and search results pop up on the right-hand side of the screen.

Ms. Dewey is basically a more fun and engaging Ask Jeeves.

Could this be a preview of search engines in the future?  Will users enjoy the company of a "search assistant" such as Ms. Dewey, or will the minimalist approach hold the search throne of everyone's Google-fied hearts?

Whatever the answer, it's clear that the big boys in the search engine game are continually looking for new ways to re-vamp the way Web users search:  Google with SearchMash, Microsoft with Ms. Dewey, and even Yahoo! with its recent inclusion of Yahoo! Answers in its search results.

It's clear that user-influenced search results are likely to be a major part of the future of online search, but will entertainment value also be part of this future?  Time will tell.

For now, let's all just bask in the fun of it all.