Ask X

Ask.com announced plans to fit financial services and real estate data into its AskCity - as well as the launch of Ask X, an AJAX-powered search site with dynamic features.

Putting data from LendingTree.com and CitySearch into AskCity is part of a deliberate plan to use Ask.com as "glue" for the company's wide range of content, according to IAC/InterActiveCorp's Barry Diller, writes ClickZ.

Diller made the announcement on a conference call with investors. He also announced the launch of Ask X, a user-interface prototype that provides Ask.com search results on an AJAX-powered three-pane page.

The left pane features search control panel and Zoom Related Search that updates as the user enters a query, the middle puts results front and center featuring a "binoculars" feature to preview results, and on the right are previews of other types of search results - such as video, news, blogs and images.