A new way to personalise Google internet searches has been launched by the company. SearchWiki allows users to delete search results they do not like, promote the ones they do like to the top of the listing and to comment on them.

The new feature, which is being rolled out in the next few hours, is the biggest update to Google's massively popular search engine for more than a year. The company is calling it the next step in the evolution of online search.

The feature is only available to those with a Google account and the changes you make apply only to your searches.

Cedric Dupont, SearchWiki product manager, said: "You now have more control over what search results appear for a given query on Google.

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"SearchWiki allows you to reorder, remove or add notes to specific web search results so that the next time you do the same search, you'll see the customised result set that you prefer."

Around 40 per cent of searches are estimated to be repeat queries, where people use Google as a bookmarking service and want to return to the same website they had viewed before. SearchWiki is aimed at making this aspect of search more effective and personalised.

SearchWiki users have an up arrow and a cross beside each search result and by clicking on them can either promote the result or remove it. If the user knows of a better webpage, for instance a great listing for restaurants in a search for a trip to New York, then the user can type in the URL or website address and SearchWiki will list it the next time. All these actions can be undone with a click.

Google has also added a social networking dimension to its engine. If a user wants to comment on a result, for instance to note that this is best site for Italian restaurants in New York, then a click brings up a text box and the comment can be typed in.

Mr Dupont said: "Comments are a great way to save and recall any thoughts you had or notes you took about a particular webpage. These are also public for others to view and get feedback on a website. We want to make this a much more interactive platform."

At the bottom of a SearchWiki results page, there is a link to a page which shows what search results others have re-ranked, deleted or added in aggregate. It also allows others in the SearchWiki community to see members' public comments on a given result, with their Google account nickname associated with their comment.

Mr Dupont said that privacy was paramount to Google and that it was impossible to trace searches and comments back to the individual.

"This had to be open only to those with a Google account so that we could know who was logging in and then deliver to them their customised search results."

Mr Dupont said that Google would see how people took advantage of the new feature and the SearchWiki community. Certainly, the data from the users might be useful to Google to improve their results for the general search service. Or it might help them discover and block spam.

It is possible that companies might start using the comments box to promote their sites and their products.

"There are lots of possibilities," Mr Dupont said. For the moment, however, he said there are no plans to charge advertisers any premium to display online ads next to personalised SearchWiki results.

Several companies are looking for ways to allow users to customise search results. Yahoo! has a couple of customise search features and Microsoft has been testing a product called U Rank which uses humans to fine tune results. Mahalo's search is also people-powered. Wikia Search, an open-source search engine, also runs on user suggestions.