From: modpra@gmail.com   
      
   Hey John,   
   As far as I know Ask Jeeves tried to do the same thing. the main   
   problem with using NLP is that the domain knowledge one has to have has   
   to be very well defined if it needs to work efficiently. One expects a   
   quick response from a query when googled. the problem with NLP is that   
   it is computationally much more expensive. That being said the current   
   NLP systems are not very good at this but there is one other "school"   
   of NLP that has not really taken off due to the fact that the founder   
   was considered a very rude individual i dont remember his name .   
   I know a very good professor who you could contact, who is exceptional   
   at implementation and also one of the few profs i know who has   
   significant market experience. His name in Mallory Selfridge and   
   currently is in Connecticut College in New London Ct. *mselfrid* at   
   *conncoll* dot *edu*   
   He is very good and will grill you to no end so be prepared and know   
   what you are talking about.   
   good luck.   
      
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