Rushmore Drive.com: An address for African-Americans

— -- A search engine launching Thursday aims to deliver a better experience for black audiences.

But Black Web Enterprises president Johnny Taylor is quick to point out that RushmoreDrive.com— named after the street on which its Charlotte offices are located — goes beyond search. Each query also returns news, images, video and blogs.

Blacks want "everything we already get from Google plus highly relevant news," Taylor says. "RushmoreDrive will deliver a more relevant search with people who identify with being black."

RushmoreDrive.com is not the first black search engine or portal (others include blackwebportal .com, blackfind.com and blackseek.com). But thanks to Black Web's parent company, IAC (InterActive Corp.), run by former Fox and Paramount chairman Barry Diller, it is certainly the best-financed, says Yankee Group analyst Mike Goodman. (Taylor would not say how much money IAC has devoted to the project.)

Wisely, RushmoreDrive.com does not confront search giant Google head on, Goodman says. "You have to attack them on the flanks, and that's what makes sense here," Goodman says. "There are a lot of things that are unique about the black marketplace, and it is that kind of differentiation that RushmoreDrive brings."

Diller embraced the idea of expanding online services for affinity groups, says Taylor, and a black-focused site was considered the first move. "Then we had to decide whether it was going to be a portal or an entertainment site or what," Taylor says. Black Web's analysis found that an estimated 24 million black Americans are already online, and black household adoption of high-speed service is rising 13% to 14% a year.

Focus group participants were most interested in search tools, news and job networking, which led to the addition of features that rival job sites Monster.com and LinkedIn.com, plus ways to network based on church, Greek and social affiliations. The site's editorial staff will also cover timely issues.

IAC owns Google rival Ask.com, and its search technology coupled with online behavior recognition techniques were used to identify sites that blacks frequent. So, a search for "Olympic Games" will turn up not only the International Olympic Committee's website but also a site with history of the African-American protest at the 1968 Olympics, not a top Google result.