Web searching using voice recognition. Ask Google?

Google may be working towards providing a method for users to make searches on the Web simply by speaking commands, according to a recent patent filing. Although filed in February 2001, the voice search patent was approved and published on Tuesday.

According to the patent abstract, Google’s system would use voice recognition technology to build keywords that are entered into the search engine. “The system then provides the weighted boolean query to a search system and provides the results of the search system to a user,” the filing states.

A demo of “Google Voice Search” was available through Google Labs, the company’s online testbed, although it had been removed as of Thursday. That service allowed a user to call a telephone number, state a query, and then receive the results through their Web browser.