ARVADA, Colo.—Kevin Atteridg is a KGB special agent, toiling from a second-floor bedroom of a snug home in a tranquil suburban neighborhood. He starts work Monday by logging on to a secure Web portal and scanning the queue of questions.

"What are the five classes of chemical reactions?"

A quick Google search reveals a satisfactory answer: synthesis, double replacement, single replacement, decomposition and combustion.

With that, the 18-year-old earns 10 cents, which he says will go toward a college education.

Atteridg works as an independent contractor for New York-based KGB (Knowledge Generation Bureau), a private company that answers wide-ranging questions, from movie showtimes to sports history, at 99 cents a pop.

It is a modern-day 411 directory-assistance service. People text-message questions to KGBKGB (542542). Special agents use their computers to respond, and the answers show up via text messages.

"There's a lot of different areas of life that you have to answer questions about," said Atteridg, who became a special agent in May. "I've definitely learned a lot of different facts."

Agents are paid 10 cents per question for generating their own answer and 5 cents if they use answers in KGB's database.

Atteridg said he makes $700 to $1,100 a month working 40 hours a week and answering about a question per minute.

Even with 260 agents working Monday afternoon, there was no shortage of questions for Atteridg to Google.

"Can I get the lyrics to 3 by Britney Spears?" "What does yellow mean on a mood ring?"

Those are the easy ones. Atteridg said he often responds to questions that really don't have answers, such as, "If Ashton Kutcher was my brother and I was crying, what would he do?" or "How can I become Spiderman?"

KGB was founded in 1992 as a traditional directory-assistance provider, a service that still generates much of the company's revenue. It launched the text-messaging service in January.

"The company answers nearly a billion questions a year," said chief executive Bruce Stewart. "The majority of that still is voice, but there is a strong growth on text."

The company says there are 180 special agents in Colorado and 10,000 nationwide.

They range from full-time agents, such as Atteridg, to those working a few hours a week to supplement their income, such as Denver resident Leanne Enck.

The 25-year-old chemist began answering KGB questions in June after her full-time job was cut to 32 hours a week.

"I do research for a living for my main job so I figured I might be apt to do it online too," Enck said.

Agents must pass an online aptitude test and "shadow training" before they are certified. Enck said the craziest question she has been asked is "How long does it take to cook a human brain?"

"You want to put it in the microwave for seven minutes a pound," Enck said.