December 17, 2003

Search giant Google has quietly integrated its shopping search service Froogle with its main web search on the Google.com site this week, enabling consumers to more quickly and easily find product information or buy products on the web.

The company said that Google users who enter search terms related to products for sale on the web will see search results returned from Froogle positioned just above the web search results.

For example, a search for a Handspring Treo 600 will feature Froogle search results linking to web pages where such devices can be purchased, in addition to other relevant web pages from the Google index.

Although Froogle has been in public beta testing for a year now, this is the first time the company has integrated Froogle search results into Google.

The company said that this Google web feature would gradually include more product links for a wider variety of product-related searches. Integrated Froogle results are available to Google.com users only.

Google follows rival Ask Jeeves, which recently launched a new Smart Search for Products feature that is integrated with its main web search tool.

Yahoo also recently launched a product search tool that is more closely linked with its web search, although a search for a specific product provides a link at the top of the results page through to Yahoo Shopping, rather than delivering direct product search results into the results page.

Earlier this week, Google announced another new feature called "Search by Number", which allows users to search for types of numbers, such as FedEx and UPS package numbers, patent numbers, equipment identification numbers issued by Federal Communications Commission, and airplane registration numbers from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The company also confirmed plans to launch a research and development centre in India next year - its first outside of the US - to tap into the local talent base.

Story by Susie Harwood
Source: Net Imperative

        

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