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Google releases open source web data sifting tool

Stop freebasing and Refine, Refine, Refine

Google has slapped some Mountain View Chocolate Factory lipstick onto the Freebase Gridworks software the company scooped up when it bought Metaweb Technologies in July.

The result is a project Google has dubbed Refine 2.0 that builds on Metaweb’s open source tech to clean up unwieldy data sets.

“Version 2.0 introduces a new extensions architecture, a reconciliation framework for linking records to other databases (like Freebase), and a ton of new transformation commands and expressions,” said Google.

The first iteration of Freebase Gridworks was used by a number of government agencies as a research tool including data.gov.uk and ProPublica, said the firm.

In July Google said that it hoped to "improve search and make the web richer and more meaningful for everyone" following the acquisition of Metaweb.

The original tool stored information on over 11 million "things in the world", including movies, books, TV shows, celebrities, locations, and companies. The company was set up to help customers use this data to enhance the design of their websites.

Google has more about the project here. ®

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