AskMeNow, Britannica offer encyclopedic knowledge

Days after announcing a deal to launch a wireless dictionary and thesaurus service in tandem with Merriam-Webster, mobile search and information provider AskMeNow expanded its relationship with parent firm Encyclopaedia Britannica by launching a mobile encyclopedia service. Users may query more than 28,000 Britannica articles via SMS query--in addition, the service will include free daily topical features mailed directly to handsets, among them Biography of the Day, Quote of the Day and This Day in History.

"People today want answers and information when they're on the go--on the train, in a restaurant or just walking down the street talking to a friend," Encyclopaedia Britannica senior VP Dan Smith said in a prepared statement. "AskMeNow lets people learn whenever it's convenient for them and helps us give them answers whenever questions come up."

For more on the AskMeNow/Britannica deal:
- read this release