Google gauging launch of YouTube in Korean

Google Inc., the world’s top Internet search company, is considering launching YouTube in Korean during the second half of this year to capitalize on the fast-growing user created content market here, a spokesperson of the U.S.-based company said yesterday.
YouTube is a leading global video-sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips.
Eyeing the high potential of the UCC market for its search-linked advertisement business, Google bought YouTube last year for $1.65 billion.
“Google is pushing to launch YouTube here within the second half,” a spokesperson of Google Korea, a local unit of the U.S.-based company, said on condition of anonymity.
“In addition, negotiations are underway with a number of local companies to secure content for its video-sharing business,” she added, declining to elaborate on the names of possible partners.
YouTube’s launch plan here was unveiled just one day after Google announced it will provide the video-sharing service to nine more countries, including Japan, France, and Germany, in the countries’ languages. Korea was excluded.
The spokesperson said Korean Web surfers will be able to easily access YouTube thanks to a user interface translated into Korean, while having a platform through which they can share their uploaded content with other global users.
Yonhap