Natural Language Interface (NLI ) for search queries is regarded as one of the key technologies to support meaningful information retrieval. The combination with statistical Bayesian matching algorithms should create the ideal tool for an international economic region like the Rotterdam Port Area. In this paper we describe the tests performed to support or counter this notion using market leader Autonomy It was known that the combination did work for knowledge workers at Heineken, Organon and Philips. The tests were carried out in an environment with 11000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). A regional environment with thousands of websites provides an unusual challenge for a technology normally used for Intranets. The public visitor is not so easy to instruct, Human factors analyses in combination with technical research shows a positive outcome for the Bayesian algorithm but counterproductive results with Natural Language Interfacing. In consequence other Interface support mechanisms need to be developed to combine the power of matching a certain information source somewhere in the region with the low quantity of data in the user query articulation. The solution chosen to tackle this problem was to encourage visitors of the portal to use an email look-a-like query window.
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