Could Wikipedia be the real threat to Google?

Yesterday, Searchme, Inc., a new search company backed by Sequoia Capital, launched Wikiseek, "a vastly improved search engine for the popular reference site, Wikipedia. Wikiseek is available as a destination web site as well as inside Wikipedia as a Firefox extension. Wikiseek is based on proprietary technology developed by Searchme, which utilizes the suggestions of tens of thousands of vertical search engines to deliver more highly relevant searches. The result is a faster, richer Wikipedia search experience."

I don't know about you, but I know a few things about the Google searches I conduct. Usually, the first result (or one of the first three results), directs me to Wikipedia. Once I go to Wikipedia, I often stay there and expand my searches on that site. I like Wikipedia and the vast knowledge it contains. More than that, there have been occasions when Wikipedia was faster than regular news.

Micro Persuasion's Steve Rubel expands on this point. He finds that "Google's results feel increasingly littered with spam and irrelevant web sites." I tend to agree. He also says that Google depends on Wikipedia to supply it with quality results. Meanwhile, Wikipedia is growing in both traffic -- as it is now the 20th most visited domain in the U.S. -- and in influence, as it is cited extensively by the media. Steve Rubel thinks this is just the beginning.

I'm not sure if I'm ready to change my searches completely from Google to Wikipedia/Wikiseek, but I'm certainly aware of Wikipedia's great influence on the way I surf. At its current market leader position I doubt Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is worried much about competitors.

But at the end of the day, if Google were to fear someone, perhaps it shouldn't be Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) or Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). Perhaps it should be Wikipedia.