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Japan mulls competitor to take on Google
The Japanese government wants to take on Google and other search engines
with its own search engine behemoth - and it has some big guns on its side.
20 December, 2005: TOKYO: The world wide web may witness yet another clash of titans – Google and - hold your breath - the Japanese gvernment!
Financial Daily Keizai Shimbun reported on Monday that the Japanese government has roped in electronic, communication and media companies and universities in Japan to develop an Internet search engine through which it hopes to give stiff competition to the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.
Google is the market leader in the search engine business, with around 70 % of the web searches, according to some estimates.
The Keizai Shimbun report said more than 20 firms and learning institutions have signed up for the project to develop technologies for the Japanese government's proposed search engine.
Matsushita Electric, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Tokyo University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have been roped in for the ambitious Google competitor project by the Japanese government, according to the report.
A common research team for the Japanese search engine project will be in place by the end of the year, the report said.
The report did not specify the amount the Japanese government plans to invest in the project, but analysts said it would pump in billions of dollars.
The government expects the project to extend to three to five years, as per the report.
A substantial portion of the Nasdaq-listed Google’s revenues of over $4 billion are generated from its search results.
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