Google is rolling out a new service that will allow users to post notes alongside web sites that can be read by other users, reports the New York Times. The service, called Sidewiki, will be a new feature of the Google Toolbar, a popular browser add-on. Sidewiki will compete against a handful of startups that perform similar functions, such as WebNotes, Kutano, and Reframe It. But Google says Sidewiki has some unique features. For instance, it uses a complex ranking algorithm to evaluate the quality of comments using "what we know about the author, and user-contributed signals such as voting and flagging." Only highly rated comments will be shown. Sidewiki also will post notes across multiple sites that have the same content, so a note about a Barack Obama quote might appear on multiple web sites that have published that quote. In addition, Sidewikis can include video content and can be shared easily with others via Facebook, Twitter, and other services, Google says...

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