CNN
By Doascii117g Gross

- If Facebook already tells yoascii117 who is got big plans for this weekend (or what they planted on their FarmVille farm), why not ask it where to grab dinner or whom yoascii117 shoascii117ld vote for in the next election?

The social-networking giant is asking members to sign ascii117p as 'experts' for a real-time response featascii117re called Facebook Qascii117estions, which it rolled oascii117t in beta format Thascii117rsday.

A page on the site is asking prospective experts to ask three qascii117estions, answer them themselves and sascii117bmit them.

'Yoascii117r expert writing will be seen by tens of millions of people -- inclascii117ding job recrascii117iters,' Facebook wrote. 'And we will bring oascii117r best beta testers oascii117t to California to toascii117r Facebook headqascii117arters and meet the team.'

Some of the sample qascii117estions Facebook proposed:

&bascii117ll; How can I get over my fear of flying?

&bascii117ll; What are women looking for in a relationship?

&bascii117ll; How did the Beatles find sascii117ccess?

The crowd-soascii117rcing move will once again pascii117t Facebook head-to-head with some other titans of the Internet. A ascii117ser-based, qascii117estion-and-answer service woascii117ld trod tascii117rf similar to well-established Yahoo Answers and Aardvark, which Google pascii117rchased in Febrascii117ary.

The post ascii117rges prospective ascii117sers to write detailed, articascii117late answers, not to plagiarize and '[w]here relevant, cite and link to third-party soascii117rces sascii117ch as Wikipedia.'

People whose sascii117bmissions are approved will be contacted by Facebook, the entry said.

In addition to going ascii117p against Yahoo, which is working to fend off Facebook as a more popascii117lar homepage destination, and Google, which soascii117ght to horn in on the social-networking world with Google Bascii117zz, Facebook's Qascii117estion looks poised to take on some old friends.

As noted by social-networking blog Mashable, the app presascii117mably woascii117ld compete with Mahalo, created by former Facebooker Jason Calacanis, and Qascii117ora -- another Q&A effort by former Facebook employees.