Google Takes On Wikipedia

The company is developing a collaborative online encyclopedia, called the "knol project," that will allow contributors to earn money by including Google ads on their pages. Google won't edit content, but will give high search ranking to entries it considers high quality, reports CNET. Users will also be able to rate and review articles.

Google hopes to draw in qualified contributors to write "knols," meaning "units of knowledge." "Our goal is to encourage people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it," wrote a Google VP. "The goal is for knols to cover all topics." A small group of testers are currently trying out the beta project. (More encyclopedia stories.)