Fast Search to Unveil Bigger Search Engine

When it comes to search engines--the Internet tool that helps viewers skim the Web for sites of interest--Norwegian company Fast Search & Transfer is betting that size does matter. Today, the company will unveil what it is marketing as the “world’s biggest search engine” (https://www.alltheweb.com), which it says will scan 200 million of the Web’s estimated 800 million pages. Fast Search is entering a field dominated by San Mateo, Calif.-based Inktomi Corp., which contracts out its search engine to larger network sites such as Lycos, Yahoo and America Online. Inktomi scans 110 million pages. Northern Light Technology’s Northern Light, a Web community with its own search engine, boasts a 150-million Web page search. Analysts caution that a bigger searching base does not necessarily produce better results.