Wikia, a collaborative, Wikipedia-style spin on search, is shutting down.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales pointed to the economy, telling News.com "It was going to take at least an another year to two before it's usable by the public, and we can't afford that right now."

The site — which Wales admitted "has not been enjoying the kind of success we had hoped" — enabled users to decide which sites appear for various search queries. It launched in January '08, to harsh critique, and was "rebooted" by Wales in June 2008.

"In a different economy, we would continue to fund Wikia Search indefinitely,” Wales lamented. "It's something I care about deeply. I will return to again and again in my career to search, either as an investor, a contributor, a donor, or a cheerleader."

In the meantime, Wikia Search will redirect to Wikianswers, which enables users to answer questions posed by others.