[A2k] Google makes novels free to print

[Michelle Childs]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/5297412.stm
Google makes novels free to print

The service will allow users to download PDF files of classic books

Search engine Google plans to offer consumers the chance to download and
print classic novels free of charge.
The firm's book search tool will let people print classics such as Dante's
Inferno or Aesop's Fables, as well as other books no longer under
copyright.

Until now, the service has only let people read such books on-screen.

Google's book search service stems from a wider project to put books
online in a searchable format, which it is undertaking with major
universities.

Working with Google on the Books Library project are Oxford University,
Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan and the University of
California, as well as the New York Public Library.

Volunteers working for a project known as Gutenberg have for some years
copied out-of-copyright books as text files, which can then be used for
printing, reading or piping into a programme for editing.

But Google's PDF offering is the first service to produce these books in a
"print-ready" format - although online shopping site Amazon has offered
limited online access to the contents of its huge bookstore.

More services

Google's book searching device does not access books still under
copyright, for which only bibliographies are available along with limited
extracts.

The news comes as the search engine is expanding its empire to offer a
wider spectrum of services.

Earlier this week, Google announced plans to target the software market
for companies.

The firm said it would offer companies the chance to run their email,
calendar and other services on their own domains, to expand on the service
it offers to individuals.

This service puts Google, whose focus has been searching and advertising,
in direct competition with software giant Microsoft.







--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
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