Industry News

EC to rival Google with massive digital library
The European Commission has proposed a far-reaching effort to preserve our 'collective memory' by putting Europe's heritage online, in an attempt to challenge search engine giant Google [ZDNet UK]

Yahoo! to follow Google into print minefield
Yahoo!'s own book scanning plans went public today with the announcement of the Open Content Alliance, of which it is a founding member. [The Register]

Google and Sun Microsystems tie the knot
Sun Microsystems and search engine Google announced a multi-year partnership on Tuesday to help spread and develop each other's software in an attempt, some say, to rival Microsoft's Office products. [Silicom.com UK]

Yahoo! acquires Upcoming.org
Search giant Yahoo! has acquired social calendar site Upcoming.org to spruce up Yahoo! Local and integrate Upcoming.org's technology into a wide range of Yahoo! sites. [CNET News]

Blinkx to carry paid search ads
Blinkx, the search engine which has specialised in online video and desktop search, is to carry paid-search adverts supplied by MIVA. [Netimperative]

AOL confirms Weblogs buyout
AOL has confirmed it is to acquire blog network outfit Weblogs, Inc as part of a plan to keep subscribers and advertisers locked into its content. [The Register]

Google reveals its 300-year plan
Internet search engine Google's chief exec Eric Schmidt estimates that Google won't manage to index all the world's information until around the 24th century. [ZDNet UK]

Blog bid to save Jeeves
Batmans butler would have a tear in his eye, as search firm Ask is coming under pressure to keep its Jeeves character. A campaign centred around the a blog hopes to demonstrate the depth of feeling about the iconic valet character. [BBC News]

Google powers 7 in 10 UK searches
The top four search engines currently power 94% of all UK searches, with Google taking the lion's share, according to new research. [Netimperative]

Bird Flu fears spark searches for symptoms
The growing threat of bird flu across Europe has resulted in a dramatic increase in searches online in the UK, according to Web monitoring firm Hitwise. [Netimperative]