13. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising one or more programs to be executed by the computer, the one or more programs including instructions for: receiving a user-formulated factual query, the factual query including one or more query terms; identifying an answer, from a fact repository, to the factual query, the answer including one or more factual answer terms and information identifying source documents that include one or more query terms of the factual query and one or more of the factual answer terms of the answer; additionally, searching a document database distinct from the fact repository to identify documents matching the user formulated factual query; after identifying the answer, accessing at least one of the source documents in the document database distinct from the fact repository; generating a snippet for at least one of the source documents, the snippet including one or more query terms of the factual query and one or more of the factual answer terms of the answer; and generating a response including the snippet, wherein the snippet itself provides factual information that answers the factual query and information identifying at least a subset of the documents of the documents identified from the document database.
13. A computer program product for use in conjunction with a computer system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium and a computer program mechanism embedded therein, the computer program mechanism comprising one or more programs to be executed by the computer, the one or more programs including instructions for: receiving a user-formulated factual query, the factual query including one or more query terms; identifying an answer, from a fact repository, to the factual query, the answer including one or more factual answer terms and information identifying source documents that include one or more query terms of the factual query and one or more of the factual answer terms of the answer; additionally, searching a document database distinct from the fact repository to identify documents matching the user formulated factual query; after identifying the answer, accessing at least one of the source documents in the document database distinct from the fact repository; generating a snippet for at least one of the source documents, the snippet including one or more query terms of the factual query and one or more of the factual answer terms of the answer; and generating a response including the snippet, wherein the snippet itself provides factual information that answers the factual query and information identifying at least a subset of the documents of the documents identified from the document database. 16. The computer program product of claim 13 , wherein the instructions for generating the snippet include instructions for determine a proximity of the one or more query terms and the one or more factual answer terms in at least one of the source documents.