America Online (AOL) is fighting what many believe to be a losing battle against Google and Yahoo!, but the Internet giant hopes its purchase this week of Israeli startup Yedda will help turn the tide.

Yedda has developed a system that, unlike traditional search engines, utilizing the knowledge of individuals within its enormous and growing user base to more accurately provide the results people are looking for when searching for answers on the Internet.

The service is comparable to Yahoo! Answers, but has won far greater acclaim from analysts.

The terms of the AOL acquisition were not disclosed, but the purchase price was rumored to be in the tens of millions. Furthermore, Yedda's management said the company will continue to operate semi-independently from its offices outside Tel Aviv, while fully integrating with all of AOL's online properties.

Yedda can be found at www.yedda.com