Microsoft to start online library, challenge Google

Microsoft will unveil an online library today that will compete with Google Books.

Microsoft said it would launch a US test of Live Search Books featuring tens of thousands of out-of-copyright books including works held by the British library and major universities in Toronto and California.

"The initial release is focussed on making the reading experience as natural as possible," Cliff Guren, project director, wrote in a weblog entry posted on the Microsoft website.

"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," he said.

The Redmond, Washington, company has made fresh book-scanning partnerships with New York Public Library and the American Museum of Veterinary Medicine, according to Guren.

In late August, Google restarted its Google Book Search project initiated in 2004 with the aim of scanning every literary work into digital format and making them available online.

Google has formed partnerships with major universities such as Harvard and Oxford.