I have been day dreaming you may say by reading the title, well I did think that I was when I was talking to a robot on a messenger, not any robot though one who could answer most of my questions correctly.

Yes a robot who can chat and answer my questions correctly, surprised so was I, well this is not a joke, the robot I am talking about is an Encarta robot called Encarta Instant Answers which can answer your question's based on anything that's there in MSN Encarta® .

MSN Encarta® is an online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework helper: it's your gateway for interactive learning on the Web.

I am totally amazed at the shape technology can take today. With such innovations life is definitely going to be easier.
Here goes my conversation with the robot. ( Check the end of the article to know how you can chat with him too )

Keith says:
Hello

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Welcome, Keith! My name is Encarta Instant Answers. I am a smart computer who can bring you the Encarta info you want right in your IM window!
I can answer your questions using any of the following Encarta sites:
1 Encarta Australia
2 Encarta Canada (English)
3 Encarta UK
4 Encarta US

Just pick one and we'll be on our way

Keith says:
Hi

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Oh hi! How's it going?

Keith says:
Its going great, how about you?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Glad to hear it!

Keith says:
What is your name?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
My name is Encarta® Instant Answers, I can bring you Encarta answers directly in this IM window!

Keith says:
Are you human?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
I am not a real person, Keith. I am a robot.

Keith says:
Who designed you?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
I was built by Conversagent, Inc. in Sunnyvale, CA and New York, NY.

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:42):
Hey, I've been sending you invitations to start the Encarta application but I didn't get any answer!
Didn't see my invitations?  Maybe you are using an old version of MSN Messenger that doesn't support activities.
Type "What version of MSN Messenger do I need?" for more info, or just "Invite me!" if you want me to send you an invitation.

Keith says (14:42):
I am using Windows Live Messenger, What version of MSN Messenger are you using?

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:42):
If that's alright with you, we'll just keep on talking while you use Windows Live Messenger, What version of MSN Messenger am I using?.

Why don't you ask me something that's actually in Encarta?   Type "?" at any time for examples of questions I can answer.

Keith says (14:42):
?

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:42):
Here are some of the questions you can ask me:

* What is the size of Sweden?
* I want to see the biography of Abraham Lincoln.
* What is a cello?

Keith says (14:42):
What is google?

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:42):
Google Inc.: Google Inc., American company specializing in Internet search  and advertising, based in Mountain View, California. Google’s name derives from the….

Keith says:
What is 2 * 2 ^ 6 + 7

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
9

Keith says:
Where in India is Mumbai located?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
[Service too busy]

Keith says:
Are you busy?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
I have been for a while, but I stopped recently. Why, do you think I still am busy?

Keith says:
You just told me you are busy

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
I don't recognize my handwriting.

OK, should we get back to the kind of questions I was designed to answer?   Type "?" to get examples of questions I can answer.

Keith says:
Ok, sure

Keith says:
What is the capital of USA?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
The capital of the United States is Washington, D.C., city and district, capital of the United States of America. The city of Washington has the same boundaries as the District of….

Keith says:
Where is Ghana Located?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Ghana is located in West Africa, fronting the Gulf of Guinea (part of the Atlantic Ocean) on the south and bordered by Côte d'Ivoire on the west, Togo on the east, and Burkina Faso on the north..

Keith says:
Name the planets in the solar system?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
There are 9 planets in the solar system:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

Keith says:
Can a lighthning strike twice at the same place?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
A lighthning could do almost anything, that's true… But TO STRIKE TWICE AT THE SAME PLACE?!? Come on!

Keith says:
Where is google loacted?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Google Inc., American company specializing in Internet search  and advertising, based in Mountain View, California. Google’s name derives from the….

Keith says:
Where is Microsoft located?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Microsoft is in Redmond, WA.

Keith says:
Where is Nasdaq?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
The Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), one of the largest markets in the world for the trading of stocks. In 2001 more than 4,800 companies were listed….

Keith says:
Who is Superman?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Superman, motion picture about a newspaper reporter with supernatural powers, based on the comic strip created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster…..

Keith says:
Is bill gates rich?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
William Henry Gates III, born in 1955, American business executive, who serves as chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation,….

Keith says:
How many people are there in the world?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
6,445,820,979 people live in the world.

Keith says:
Which is the most populated country?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
China has the largest population, with 1,313,973,700 people.

Keith says:
Which is the fifth largest country?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Brazil has the 5th largest area, with 3,300,171 sq mi.

( This part about Kyrgyzstan is pretty interesting, when i asked it where is it? it picked up from the previous conversation and answered properly )

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Right.

I do enjoy the conversation, but what I'm really here for is to help you learn new things.
I'm sure you've heard about Kyrgyzstan… but do you know where it is?  Just ask me and I'll show it to you on a map!

Keith says:
No

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Fine.

Keith says:
Where is it?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Kyrgyzstan is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and is bordered on the north by Kazakhstan, on the east by China, on the south by China and Tajikistan, and on the west by Uzbekistan..
Let me take you to a map of Kyrgyzstan. =>

Keith says:
Where is india?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
India is located in southern Asia, occupying most of the Indian subcontinent, and is bordered on the north by Afghanistan, China, Nepal, and Bhutan; on the east by Bangladesh, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), and the Bay of Bengal; on the south by the Palk Strait and the Gulf of Mannar (which separates it from Sri Lanka) and the Indian Ocean; and on the west by the Arabian Sea and Pakistan..

Keith says:
Who will win the world cup 2006?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
5 Brazil (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
3 Italy (1934, 1938, 1982)
3 Germany (1954, 1974, 1990)
2 Uruguay (1930, 1950)
2 Argentina (1978, 1986)
1 England (1966)
1 France (1998) won the World Cup in 1920.

Keith says:
Ok, are you bored with me asking questions?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
No way! I love this. My mission is to give information to as many people as I can.
Why don't you ask me something that's actually in Encarta?   
You can type "?" at any time for examples of questions I can answer.

Keith says:
What is Encarta?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
About MSN Encarta®.
MSN Encarta® is an online Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Atlas, and Homework helper: it's your gateway for interactive learning on the Web.
You can ask me questions, and I will automatically search Encarta for an answer.
You can also explore Encarta by going to its website: http://encarta.msn.com/.

Keith says:
Do you get bored talking to millions of people?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
I've been known to get bored talking to millions of people? on occasions.

So anyway…

You wanna talk about being busy some more?

Keith says:
What is milk?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Here is the definition for milk: nutritious fluid produced by mammals.

Keith says:
Who was the first human being?

Encarta® Instant Answers says:
Human, common name given to any individual of the species Homo sapiens and, by extension, to the entire species. The term is also applied to certain….

Keith says (14:40):
Ok, can you give me the definition of perception?

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:40):
Who?

Keith says (14:40):
Perception

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:40):
What about Perception?

Keith says (14:40):
I want the definition

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:40):
I'm sure you can be stronger than your desire for the definition.

Keith says (14:41):
Yes, I am stronger, but still If you can look up the definition for me

Encarta® Instant Answers says (14:41):
I'm not sure I understood you correctly.  Let's try an Encarta search. =>

That was a very interesting conversation I have had with a robot, but still it will be more useful as I am gonna bore it asking questions from now on.

Here is how you can ask your questions to the Encart Instant Answers Robot.

Add this id in your MSN Instant Messenger encarta@conversagent.com, send a simple message to the Encarta Instant Answers like Hi or anything it will then ask you to choose the appropriate Encarta site.

Once that's done you are all set, ask your questions and have fun.