"Ask Jeeves" expanding to U.K.

Granada Group Plc and Carlton Communications Plc said on Sunday they would set up a British version of U.S. Internet search engine Ask Jeeves in a $125 million venture with its parent company. Each will buy a quarter stake in the UK company for $31 million with the remainder owned by Ask Jeeves Inc, a popular search tool in the United States. Web surfers ask questions to Jeeves the butler by typing in real English sentences rather than keywords, and he tries to respond as coherently as he can, although behind the user-friendly front the service searches keywords like its rivals. Carlton is currently seeking to merge with United News & Media Plc in a deal which would leave Granada, the third big name in Britain_s Independent Television network, out in the cold.