Askville.com Now Open to All

Open to a select number of users since its initial beta launch last December, Askville.com is now available to all Amazon.com's customers around the world.

Askville.com is a website where users can ask and answer questions, and discover answers to questions on everything from how to buy an HDTV to the best way to lose weight.

Askville.com users who share their knowledge by answering questions will receive Quest Gold, which, for a limited time and while supplies last, can be redeemed for $100 or $50 Amazon.com Gift Cards. The amount of Quest Gold a user earns is tied to how well they answer questions on Askville.com and what level of expertise they have reached in a particular topic (users earn experience points in specific topics when they answer questions and are promoted to higher levels within each topic as they continue to submit high-quality answers in those topics).

"Finding information or getting good advice is hard enough when you are searching the Internet by yourself," said Joseph Park, Director of Askville.com. "Askville.com allows you to ask a question to a community of users who are willing to help you find that information or give you advice from their own personal experiences, which makes the discoverability of information much more efficient. Plus, it is a lot more fun interacting with real people versus looking at a list of website links from a search engine." "Not everyone finds what they are looking for on the web," said Park. "We believe Askville.com can help users find information while also making it a fun experience by sharing your knowledge with other curious, like-minded people."

Users who are not Amazon customers and have a cell phone in the U.S. and Canada can still gain access to Askville.com by authenticating themselves via mobile phone.

Askville.com plans to launch another website called Questville.com where users will be able to use their Quest Gold for various activities and a chance to get other rewards.