Search with a :-)

For a long time people have wanted the ability to search for terms and phrases on the web using non-letter (A-Z) characters. Put another way, searching using non-alphanumeric characters.

Well the time has come here at Ask.com and we've started to roll-out some what we hope are useful and practical examples.

We now offer a growing list of emoticons (aka smileys) that can be found by simply typing the smiley into the search box. Look for the definition in a Smart Answer box at the top of web results page.

Examples include:

:-) - Find this emoticon's meaning

:-/ - Find this emoticon's meaning

:D - Find this emoticon's meaning

Of course, each Smart Answer also includes links straight to a dictionary for more emoticons and other net terms. We even offer a link to learn more about IM ettiqutte.

By the way, we also offer a non-alphanumeric result for a popular weblog/news site.

In addition to smileys, we're building a set of Smart Answers for instant messaging shorthand like
brb, lol and rotfl.

Again, we just don't give you the definition but also links to sites where you can learn more.

We plan on doing more with non-alphanumeric searching in the future.

All of this is about Smart Answers saving users time and effort in getting to the information they need.

Enjoy!

The Ask.com Smart Answer Team