New Search Engine: UJIKO

This new search engine is a lot of fun and has an amazing interface. Check UJIKO out at:

http://www.ujiko.com/

For a description of the search engine, see: Vage, Lars. Kartoo presents new exciting version of UJIKO. Pandia SearchEngine News, 2005 July 1. http://www.pandia.com/sw-2005/35.ujiko.html.

Searches in UJIKO have a video game element: each time you visit a new site, you are gaining one point of expertise. With every 10 points, you move to the next level. At each level, the search engine "mutates" --new buttons appear giving you access to advanced features (search video, images, news, encylopedia, advanced filters, animated skins, web archive, etc.). It also has a video game console appearance and you can customize the console's look. ( See http://www.ujiko.com/v2a/en_htm/skins.htm)

Despite its "gaming" appearance, UJIKO is based on Yahoo's search technology, so it indexes over 5 billion pages. After you reach "Level 10" you can extend the search into the Kartoo meta search engine.

By the way, if you haven't yet tried the Kartoo meta search engine yet, it is also worth a try. It is at http://www.kartoo.com/ . It is a meta search engine with another highly visual interface -- results appear on a map, instead of on a linear search results page. Found sites are represented by bigger or smaller labeled images, depending on their relevance (more relevant sites are larger on the map).