Ask Jeeves is now invading territory that so far has been dominated by the makers of the Internet's two most popular search engines -- Google and Yahoo. Microsoft also hopes to grab a piece of the action with a similar advertising network revolving around its MSN.com site.

Backed by a new owner known for shaking up the status quo, Ask Jeeves (Nasdaq: ASKJ) is launching an upstart advertising network powered by its own search engine -- a move likely to rankle its longtime business partner, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) .

Ask Jeeves' marketing system, scheduled to debut today, follows the same model that has been generating tremendous profit growth for Google and another Internet powerhouse, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) , during the past three years.
The expansion heralds a new era for Ask Jeeves, a 9-year-old company that survived the dot-com bust to be acquired for US$2.3 billion by InterActiveCorp in a deal completed less than two weeks ago ...