Top > Webmaster > 2006 > December > 2006-12-13

Microsoft Also Has a Book Search Engine

Although Google ran into some legal trouble with its new Google Books service, when authors took the company to court saying that allowing users to search through books and view specific parts of them is akin to content piracy, there is someone that believes that new service might bare some fruits after all. That someone is Google`s rival Microsoft. The Redmond-based software giant announced that a U.S. test of Live Search Books, its new service, is about to launch. The new service offers something very similar to what Google is trying to do.

Microsoft`s service will include tens of thousands of out-of-copyright books, while Google is aiming at offering books from all types, including copyrighted ones. Live Search Books will include books and works held by the British library and major universities in Toronto and California. "The US beta launch of Live Search Books is a big step forward in advancing the way people discover information through the integration of content that has been off-limits to the traditional search experience, until now," announced Microsoft.

This is a joint effort to bring more information to the web and make it possible for people around the world to search the large stock of human knowledge. Although that is the main idea behind Google`s initiative, is seems that Microsoft agrees on the importance. Microsoft`s Windows Live Publisher, another application from the software giant, is aimed at providing access to copyrighted books making the selection much larger. It`s left to be seen what service will be more popular, and if people do search through books for purposes other than learning or work related.