As expected, the widely awaited search engine from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, Search Wikia, made its official debut today. Although still in its alpha version, Search Wikia aims to eventually provide a viable alternative to the likes of Google by allowing registered users to submit ratings on search results.

But some tech bloggers are already weighing in with reviews critical of Search Wikia, calling the service a “letdown” and “not ready” for primetime. Indeed, even Wales admitted that the quality of the search results is low, but given the very nature of the site this is to be expected as it first needs participation from volunteers to grow and be refined – much like Wikipedia took its time to evolve and ramp up to its position today.