Bellevue-based AskMe Corp. is closing down its free expert-advice Web site next month in order to focus on selling software to large enterprise customers.

The site -- www.askme.com -- will be phased out beginning Nov. 1 with the official shutdown Nov. 25.

"It just didn't make business sense for us to continue having the consumer site," said Hossein Mousavi, AskMe vice president of marketing. No employees will be let go as a result of the closure.

At its peak, AskMe.com attracted more than 10 million registered users who posted questions and answers on everything from algebra to zoology. Among the questions being asked yesterday were basic ones such as "Where is Malta located?" to bizarre ones such as "How do I free Diddy on Donkey Kong 64?"

Some of AskMe.com's experts were saddened by the news, which was sent out by e-mail yesterday morning.

Michelle Hardenbrook, the No. 1-ranked expert on the site with 23,005 questions answered, said the decision "breaks my heart." On the site, the Renton resident answers 20 to 30 questions per day about personal relationships, being a parent, women's health and dating.

"I feel like I have done some really good work, and I have helped an awful lot of people through some really traumatic things in their life," said Hardenbrook, who during the day works at a property-tax company. "So it is really sad for me. I am sure that I can find other productive things to do to volunteer my time. But this has been a real big part of my life for almost three years and now it is going away. It is sorta like a death."

She's received thank-you notes, roses and Moroccan candlesticks from people she has advised.

AskMe is encouraging experts to retrieve information from the Web site before the closure. It is also referring users to competing sites such as AllExperts.com, Abuzz. com, ExpertCentral.com and Keen. com.

Hardenbrook said she probably would not move to another Web site, though she does plan to continue the service on her own by giving out her personal e-mail address to trusted clients.

"If I have to, I will build my own site," she said.

Gary Beck, an AskMe expert from San Francisco who specializes in gardening, cooking and classic movies, was not aware of the closure yesterday afternoon. However, he said the Web site has been deteriorating for several months with some so-called experts joining to promote drugs and underage sex.

"There has been no leadership or control here for many months," he said. "It is quite apparent that the owners gave up on the site."

AskMe spokeswoman Lynn Qu admitted that the site was being used for potential illegal activities, prompting the company to contact the FBI.

"I am definitely not going to deny that there weren't any incidents like that on the Web site," she said. "But we had to comply with legal authorities on how to handle that."

She said those activities, which began in the past two months, did not lead to the closure of the site.

AskMe, formerly XpertSite. com, is backed by OVP Venture Partners, former Microsoft Corp. executive Scott Oki and others. It is one of the few consumer Internet companies that has successfully made a transition to selling enterprise software.

With 54 employees and plans to hire more staffers this year, AskMe is growing at a time when many software companies are scaling back. It turned a profit last quarter and continues to sign up Fortune 500 customers. Among the companies using the software, which allows employees to quickly transfer information to other employees, are Honeywell, the Ford Motor Co. and Network Appliance.