Images from Google Earth are being used by volunteers in the search for adventurer Steve Fossett. The up-to-date images, released by Google Earth, allow users to identify potential crash sites from personal computers and report their findings to rescue crews in Nevada.

The project is being coordinated by Amazon’s “artificial artificial intelligence” site called the Mechanical Turk, where people are paid to do all kinds of tasks that computers have not yet mastered, such as transcribing text or identifying items in an image.

The search for Fossett is a volunteer effort, but it should be great publicity for Mechanical Turk. I checked out the site and found myself looking for a quick way to make a buck - literally. For $1 I could do some internet research to identify the artist of a few oil paintings (which proved impossible in one minute of googling, the amount of time I decided was my maximum effort for an unearned dollar). I could also visit a stained glass shop and write a 250+ word article about it, which seemed like it might be fun in a geeky scavenger hunt sort of way. The best part is that you can sign in with your Amazon account (something most of us have already been suckered into starting) and earn some pennies anytime you want.

Sometime when I’m bored, perhaps I’ll find an internet deal for a bargain site for 5 cents, or provide a text transcript of a video for 12 cents. For now, it looks like I should be spending my free time blogging.

Or maybe I can pay someone 50 cents per post to write my blog for me…?

Steve Fossett, millionaire aviation golden boy, left, Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic billionaire bad boy on the right - two of the least likely people to be found earning money on the Mechanical Turk.