Daum to launch book search site

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Daum to launch book search site

Announcing yesterday that it had bought a 15-percent stake in Kyobo Bookstore, the largest bookshop chain in the nation, Daum Communications Corp. said it is to offer a new online service that will allow users to search for text from books. Daum, Korea’s No. 2 portal site, said yesterday that it had obtained the right to access Kyobo’s database of around 3.2 million books, which includes the names of the author, the publisher and a brief summary. In addition to this information, Daum users will be able to run more detailed searches on more than 50,000 pre-selected titles. Should a specialized keyword appear in a book, users will be able to view pages running from four pages prior to four pages after the word’s appearance. Any graphics on the pages will also be displayed. When copyright issues are overcome, Daum plans to add another 20,000 books annually to its online archive. The firm said it would also strengthen its electronic book and audio book sections, and upgrade digital contents so that they can be viewed via televisions and wireless terminals. Along with the text search service, Daum also plans to set up a series of online communities and blogs devoted to different titles and publishers. Once users are done surfing, they will be able to buy their favorite books online. Naver, the nation’s top portal, launched an online search service of over 5 million books after entering a partnership with online book store Book Topia in July 2004. Its text searching function is currently available on about 60,000 books. Online book searches are a worldwide trend. Google Print is already in operation and MSN’s Book Search is slated to start within the first half of this year. Amazon, the world’s best-known Internet book retailer, already runs a text search service on some of its books. by Seo Ji-eun
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