Most search engines help people find websites.  Sure… we use them to find information.  But, for the most part, we're looking for sources of knowledge when we use a search engine.  We don't expect the search engine to actually give us the information itself (although this is slowly changing).

You might have noticed links to Answers.com in a few posts today.  That's because we've selected Answers.com as the Featured Search Engine for the month of December.  And unlike a lot of other search engines, Answers.com doesn't point users to the information… it brings the information to you.

Billing itself as an online dictionary, encyclopedia, "and much more", Answers.com is a search service dedicated to helping users find information from a variety of sources.  Listed in the top 100 most popular websites, Answers.com pulls information from over 60 publishers and displays, not links, but the actual content from those publishers.  Answers.com currently sports over 4 milliion topics across a wide variety of categories, including arts, business, entertainment, health, reference, science, shopping, technology, and zoology.

For example, a search for "raccoon" displays a definition, four encyclopedia entries, word origins, translations into numerous languages, websites featuring raccoon information, and a list of other Answers.com pages that mention the word "raccoon".

Answers.com also offers website owners a bloggers tools to integrate and link their content to Answers.com content.  You can add an "look-up box" to your site which allows your visitors to search Answers.com for information.  In addition, AnswersLinks will highlight words within your content and link to related pages on Answers.com  The service offers customized advertising options and instant-purchase ads from AdBrite.

For more information, visit Answers.com or the Internet Marketing Monitor's Search Engine Summary.