Yahoo launches Yahoo Answers in India

Yahoo India on Wednesday announced the launch of Yahoo Answers, a free community-based search engine, in India.

The search engine allows the users to ask questions on any topic and get this answered by millions of Yahoo users on a real-time basis.

Pete Deemer, chief product officer, Yahoo Bangalore, said the registered user could avail this service which includes a full range of Indian content with categories like local businesses and taxation system in India.

"Once the question is posted by a user, he will get plenty of answers to the query from real people on real life experiences and opinions," Deemer said, adding: "In this way, he can take the benefit from the collective wisdom of the Yahoo global community".

To drive participation, Yahoo is providing a points system, wherein a user gets a hundred points on logging in to Yahoo Answers. The points get reduced/added depending on posting queries, providing answers and voting on the best ansers. "Basing on the points a user scores over a period of time, we are planning to reward them," Rishi Behal, head, Yahoo Search, said.

India is the fifth country where Yahoo has launched the product. Earlier in December last year, the company had launched Yahoo Answers in US and after that in Australia, Canada and UK. Behal said that the company was planning to launch the product in all other countries by the end of May.

Yahoo will screen the content of the questions and answers posted in  Yahoo Answers to ensure that all abusive, defamatory or obscene content was removed from the website, Deemer said.