Redwood City, CA-based RealNames has introduced a new service allowing Internet users to search selected major search engines directly from their browser's address window.

It sounds incredible, but you can actually do a search using Google, Yahoo, MSN, Excite or AOL without having to first click over to Google, Yahoo, MSN, Excite or AOL-- if you use RealNames' new free RealSearch service. How does it work? For those who have used RealNames' Global Keyword Namespaces technology this will sound familiar: type the name of the search engine you want to use and your search words into your browser address box, WITHOUT a http:// or www, and you will be brought directly to the results list.

Searchers must be using Microsoft's Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher utomatically take advantage of RealSearch. While Realnames indicates that RealSearch will work with Netscape browsers if users download a plug-in, the plug-in was not locatable on the RealNames web site. Users should also note that RealSearch does not appear to work with Internet Explorer of Netscape Communicator for the Mac.

For example, to find information about Internet filtering, enter the following text into the address box of one of the browser's listed below (in this case Google): google internet filtering. Your results list will be displayed, however beware that it takes longer to receive the result list via RealSearch than going directly to the search engine itself.