Google creates Knol, a Wikipedia like reference site

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Google started this Knols project yesterday and it's in private beta stage. The link for Knol is here but you can’t access it unless you have an invitation from Google. The participants will write reference pages on topics in which they have knowledge and expertise.

Google will provide a creation tool for users, where they can edit the article and create references for their article using either links or other research papers. A screenshot of a typical Knols page is shown here.


Click here for the entire page view.

It is very detailed, similar to Wikipedia. But in Wikipedia many users can edit the page, and Google's project only allows one author to edit a page. Users can rate the page and leave comments.

Google said it will index these pages faster and place it higher like it does for Wikipedia. So in many cases, if the articles are viewed more, then Knols articles will appear in the front page even surpassing pages from Wikipedia and other reference sites like Squidoo.

Authors can choose whether Google can post ads in their pages or not. If they allow ads, Google will share a major part of the ad revenues generated with the author.

Google said it will not be involved in editing articles. Only the authors can do so.

Many are saying if Knols become successful, then other sites like Squidoo, Mahalo will face tough times because they rely on Google search results. If Google gives preference to Knols articles then it will be a big problem for them. Even Wikipedia might be affected by the search results.

What is your opinion? Is Google Knols good for us or is Wikipedia sufficient enough?