Look overhead! There goes Sputnik again, and it's got its eyes on America - again.
A company owned by the Russian government is launching a search engine - Sputnik - to compete with the other major search choices in Russia - Google and a local engine, Yandex.
Sputnik - which means "satellite" - brings to mind the old Space Race, when the Russians shocked America by launching a satellite over the Earth. This Sputnik is intended to start a Search Race with the more-established Yandex and Google Russia.
Yandex has about 62 percent of the search market, and Google Russia has just under 28 percent. Sputnik is looking to break into that total.
Some expect Sputnik to gain market share rapidly because it's going to be the default search engine within state companies and government departments. But some say it's only for government, so its appeal may be limited.
The idea for a state-controlled search engine was first pitched in 2008 by then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who disapproved of the online coverage of the Russian-Georgian war that he saw.
