Netimperative: Ask Jeeves UK partners Kelkoo for shopping tool

Ask Jeeves added shopping search to its list of "smart search" tools. Partnering with Yahoo's Kelkoo comparison shopping site, Ask Jeeves will be able to exploit the shopping services tags, databases and pricing information.

Ask Jeeves has been mentioned as a potential for acquisition by Microsoft if and when that company's search engine development falters. Both companies have been focusing on natural language search - the feature that allows visitors to ask questions in English, giving more subtle queries. Deep contractual relationships with arch competitors like Yahoo could make an acquisition more complicated.