1. A wireless apparatus operable in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising: a discovery engine configured to provide a profile to the application, the profile having defined use parameters, search for a near-area network (NAN) to communicate with based on one or more attributes received from an application running within the wireless apparatus, the attributes comprising information to configure the discovery engine to perform functions as defined by the application, the received attributes being based on the profile, and communicate with the NAN based on the attributes, wherein the discovery engine is implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software.