Finding answers to any question just a phone call away

Etan Horowitz | Sentinel Staff Writer

May 10, 2008

The Internet can answer almost any question you can come up with, but wouldn't it be great if you could call someone and have them search the Internet for you? A new free service called ChaCha lets you do just that.

1. Call 1-800-2 CHA-CHA from a cell phone that can receive text messages.

2. When prompted, speak your question. You can ask ChaCha to tell you the weather, who won a sporting event, suggest a good Italian restaurant, or anything else you can think of.

3. After you hang up, you'll receive a text message restating your question and telling you that ChaCha is working on finding the answer. A ChaCha guide then looks for the answer online. In a few minutes, you'll get a text message with the answer to your question.

4. If you have a follow-up question, or think the answer you received is not correct, call ChaCha again or reply to the text message.

5. The text message with the answer will also include a link to a Web site that has your question, the answer and a link to the Web site where the ChaCha guide found the answer.

ChaCha is free to use, but standard text messaging rates apply.