Reportedly, Ask Jeeves' paid search will look similar to Google's system. It primarily will be based on keyword bidding, but with some measure of relevance, such as click-through rates, factored into the advertiser's ultimate cost. The minimum bid will reportedly start at 5 cents.

Ask Jeeves' sponsored listings likely will co-exist with Google's, at least for the time being. Google's contract to power sponsored listings on Ask Jeeves doesn't expire until 2007.

A spokeswoman for Ask Jeeves declined to comment.

Rumors that Ask Jeeves intended to start its own paid search platform have been swirling since at least the beginning of July, when the Associated Press reported that InterActiveCorp's Barry Diller was considering developing his own paid search system. IAC completed its $1.9 billion purchase of Ask Jeeves last week.

The lucrative sponsored search market remains dominated by Google and Yahoo, but other players are attempting to enter. For example, in March, MSN--which receives sponsored search listings from Yahoo!--announced it would create its own paid search platform, adCenter.

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