Interacting with Encarta via IM

This is pretty cool (via Chris Sells). You add encarta@conversagent.com as a contact in your MSN Messenger contacts list and then you can start interacting with Encarta. I started by issuing the following questions for which I got exactly the answers I was expecting:

I want to see a map of Xanthi
Where is Thessaloniki?
How many people are there in Greece?
What’s earth’s population?
Then engaged into a discussion…
- Savas: Hello
- Encarta: Hello. How can I help?
- Savas: How old are you?
- Encarta: 5 months, 4 days, 8 minutes and 39 seconds! What else do you want to talk about, anyway?
- Savas: How about the weather?
- Encarta: Sorry savas, I’m an Encyclopedia, I don’t do the weather ;-). For weather info, you can ask my friend SmarterChild (his screename is smarterchild@hotmail.com).
- Savas: Do you know anything about Microsoft?
- Encarta: Microsoft Corporation is the largest company in the world dedicated to creating computer software.
- Savas: Who created you?
- Encarta: I was created by Conversagent, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA and New York, NY.
- Savas: And what is your purpose in life?
- Encarta: My purpose is to answer your questions using the Encarta Online Encyclopedia. I can chat with you and help you get the information you want fast! Why don’t you ask me something that’s actually in Encarta? 🙂 I’m sure you’ve heard about Uzbekistan… but do you know where it is? Just ask me and I’ll show it to you on a map!