25 August 2006

A new online service has the potential to alter the future of web browsing, academics at Sheffield Hallam University have claimed.

The new system, known as an ontological search engine, is being referred to as an "intelligent" system, which can understand the words entered, rather than simply finding them in text.

Initially piloted for a project to increase the usability of the Internet for parties interested in Jewish cultural heritage, creators hope that the "cutting-edge" system's implications will be far-reaching for all web browsing.

Dr Babak Akhgar, a reader at Sheffield Hallam University and research leader, remarks: "This type of technology has implications not only for the way we source cultural material, but also for the way we browse the internet more generally.

"In a few years time these intelligent search engines could become the norm."

Sheffield Hallam claims to be is one of Britain’s most progressive and innovative universities, working to develop new levels of quality in the 21st century.

© Adfero Ltd

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