Last week Google launched Knol, its Wikipedia-wannabe site, with a sparse base of knowledge. The online encyclopedia has millions of words to go before it catches up with the hundreds of thousands of worldly entries in Wikipedia’s storehouse of human knowledge.

But some critics maintain that a few of Knol’s features may give Wikipedia some much-needed competition.

Who’s on Knol?

Unlike Wikipedia entries, Knol entry contributors must assign their names to the articles they contribute. Readers

can soon after produce a decision whether the named author is indeed reliable. Authors can be checked out online — or off — to determine whether they have the credibility needed.

While some studies show most of Wikipedia’s entries rival print-encyclopedia accuracy, the site has been marred by political and personal squabbles. For example, Wikipedia entries concerning Chinese government oppression and Iranian capital punishment have gone lost in the past — deleted […]

Orginal post by Top Tech News