Verbase search engine uses wisdom of the crowd to be more relevant

In the fast-developing internet industry, the incumbent leaders are well aware that consumer tastes can change and more nimble competitors are just around the corner.

Before Google became the undisputed internet search kingpin in the past decade, the market leaders were industry pioneers that included Lycos, Infoseek, AltaVista, Overture and Yahoo.

In 2009, software giant Microsoft tossed its hat into the general internet search arena with Bing, which promised more relevant search results.

Verbase, a Hong Kong start-up formed by an American entrepreneur, will step into that same arena next Monday, when its namesake web search engine is unveiled to challenge Google and eventually, mainland online search giant Baidu.

Antoine Sorel Neron, the founder and chief executive of Verbase, said the new search service was designed to relieve internet users' frustration with the advertising, spam and irrelevant results found in most online searches.

"Today's search engines are inherently flawed due to a business model that is geared towards maximising advertising revenue instead of delivering the best results to users," Neron said.