Tech entrepreneur and blogger Anil Dash announced the launch of Expert Labs at Web 2.0 Expo NY 09.

Expert Labs will work with policy makers, technologists, scientists, researchers and academics to leverage crowdsourcing as a way to “help government listen” and create better policy.

“Dot gov is the new dot com,” said Dash, who was Vice President and Chief Evangelist at Six Apart, makers TypePad and Movable Type and will serve as Director of Expert Labs.

Expert Labs will run as part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science with a $500,000 grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Dash told attendees, “I hope you pay attention to the idea that Web 2.0 can serve the greater good than some of the trivial things we’ve done. We can actually help make our country better.”

More:

• AAAS Press Relase: Expert Labs to Help Support Policymakers by Tapping into “Cloud Expertise”
• AAAS video interview with Anil Dash