Jeeves finally facing the axe?

Internet search engine Ask.com has confirmed its long-term figurehead, the butler Jeeves, is facing an uncertain future and may well find himself thrown onto the manservant scrapheap in the coming months.

Although the company says no final decision has been taken, the signs aren't good for Jeeves. A decision to distance Ask.com from its pin-striped batman follows a year-long review which started in September 2004, when Jeeves was suspended from his duties before returning a little smarter for a makeover.

Having apparently been given 12 months to buck up his act, it appears he is now facing redundancy.

Although cynics may suggest this story is becoming something of a cheap annual publicity stunt, a statement from the search firm appears to acknowledge the fact the Jeeves character has been irreparably tarnished by his failure to return the right search results during his early years on the job. And Ask.com now seems keen to distance itself from those early failures.

"Over the last year, we have been actively engaged in testing the role of the Jeeves character and how it affects users' recognition of how the search engine has evolved and dramatically improved," the company said in a statement.

"This research shows use of the character as the prominent symbol of the brand may inhibit people from recognising that our search engine has changed, and now gives a better and unique search experience."

However, there remains some uncertainty as to whether Ask.com will ditch Jeeves altogether from all of its branding.

"The character may be phased out as the prominent icon of the brand, although no timeline or details have been determined," the statement added.

Although the messages out of Ask.com appear non-committal, Jeeves is clearly concerned.

Asked via the query field on the website to confirm whether he has actually lost his job, the butler simply directed silicon.com towards a website entitled 'Coping with job loss'.

The signs don't look good for Jeeves, although his results appear a little more relevant - but it may be too little, too late.