Listen in RealAudio

Would you be surprised to learn that Google employs a stable of freelance researchers who answer questions for a fee? Google Answers has been around for several years now, but relatively few Internet users ever plow deep enough into Google's ever-expanding set of features to encounter it.

Google Answers is designed fill the void when the search engine fails you. Users post questions, something like "Who will be required to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax in 2007" and specify how much you'll pay for an answer. A low bid means your question probably won't get answered. But if your fee is acceptable, a researcher will find the information you want, post it to Google Answers, and send you an email.

One user recently posted the question, "How old was Eric Burdon(singer) of the 'The Animals' when he recorded 'House of the Rising Sun'?" He paid two dollars for the answer. Another user paid five dollars for an answer to "What is the life span of a chicken?"

Guest: Sarah Milstein, one of the authors of Google: The Missing Manual, 2nd edition