Tossing its hat in the local-search arena, IAC has launched Ask City, which will let users search for local information such as events, business listings and movies.

Ask City will allow users to search for local businesses and events, such as concerts and restaurants, and will rely heavily on other IAC services, such as Citysearch and Ticketmaster, MediaPost writes. At launch, Ask City will not feature ads, but IAC hasn't ruled out that possibility.

Ask City will provide links to let users purchase tickets to events and book reservations. "We wanted to make it really easy for people to use the information that they found," Ryan Massie, IAC director of product management, is quoted as saying. Ask City will also provide movie reviews from the Chicago Tribune.

"If this product really takes off, there's a possibility that it will take off at the expense of Citysearch," Greg Sterling, principal of Sterling Marketing Intelligence said.