LLRXBuzz is reporting that Google has added the ability to incorporate variables into Google phrase searching through the use of "wildcards." The LLRXBuzz report comes from a tip from Invisible Web maven Gary Price.

A wildcard is a place-holder used to represent a variable, so phrases with any word in the position of the wildcard may be returned in search results.

According to the report, an "*" asterisk may be inserted in the phrase to represent a variable or missing word. This can be particularly helpful when looking for a person who often uses their middle name - if you do not know their middle name. For example, a search for the name "Robert Downey" (which looks for the name as an exact phrase) will return different results than a search for "Robert * Downey" that would also incorporate the actor's middle name. (The latter search returns an online version of an appellate decision related to the actor that did not appear in the first search.)

To read more about recent additions to Google's functionality, see these articles:

• Google Adds Searchable Merchandise Catalogs
• Google Indexes Micorsoft Office & Other File Types
• Google Indexes PDFs
• Google Adds Image Search
• Google Expands its People-Finder Capabilities