Web search application firm Accoona Corporation has unveiled search functionality that dramatically improves the quality and relevance of Internet-based data search and retrieval.

Eckhard Pfeiffer, Accoona Chairman and former President and CEO of Compaq Computer Corp. commented, ''From this day forward, Internet search will never be the same. With Accoona, high-quality, relevant results are delivered instantly, saving consumers and businesses time and money.'' Pfeiffer and other Accoona executives made their remarks at a press event hosted by Accoona at the United Nations.

A pioneer in the application of artificial intelligence web search, A pioneer in artificial intelligence the company's search engine portal has been significantly enhanced to offer users two distinct sets of functionality:

The ''News'' function enables users to instantly cross-reference their search keywords to a suite of frequently used data-search categories.

-- The ''Business'' function enables users to cross-reference keywords to a database that melds Dun and Bradstreet's extensive database with Accoona's own database of business information, totaling more than 60 million businesses worldwide.

In the News function, Accoona provides users with a set of eight drop-down buttons that enables them to:

-- Prioritize the Results. Refine the results by prioritizing the words in their original search phrase.

-- Refine by Time Period. With a mouse click, access keyword-relevant data published at various time periods, from within the previous hour to more than 30 days ago.

-- Refine by News Organization or Media Outlet. Refine the results by selecting specific media outlets from a database of thousands of news organizations.

-- Refine by Company Name. Find related companies for News and Business search by accessing Accoona's proprietary database, totaling more 60 million companies. Included is Dun and Bradstreet data, which provides free access to such company information as yearly sales, the number of employees, and a contact name and phone number.

-- Refine by Country. Refine the results by selecting media outlets from a specified country.

-- Refine by State. Refine the results by selecting media outlets from a specified state.

-- Find People. Refine the results by cross-referencing to a list of people who are mentioned in searched articles.

-- Determine the Type of Media. Narrow your search to a specific type of media, including text, audio, video, picture and graphic.

Stuart Kauder, Chief Executive Officer of Accoona commented, ''Our artificial intelligence capabilities enable us to offer advertisers a compelling and unique value proposition, in terms of matching search queries to their products and services. Here, too, Accoona will redefine the commercial model of Internet search.''

Guest speaker Paul Hoffman, acclaimed technology author and journalist, noted that ''Accoona will be especially useful to journalists, who often work under extremely tight deadlines. The Accoona search engine has enabled me to find source material I couldn't have located otherwise.''

Accoona has an agreement with China Daily Information Company to become the preferred search engine portal across China for the next 20 years on an exclusive basis. Already one of the most frequently used search engines in China, Accoona has licensed its English search engine to Sina, China's leading online publisher and to Sohu, China's largest portal.

Shareholder, consultant and world chess champion Garry Kasparov commented, ''After my many high-profile battles with supercomputers, I am acutely aware of he artificial intelligence component and the learning capabilities it enables. Accoona is the leader in combining artificial intelligence with effective Internet searches.''

To learn more about Accoona Corporation, please visit: www.accoona.com.