According to some Internet sources, Google is working on the new project to enable users to preview video clips online. The information is unofficial as Google representatives do not want to reveal any details about this project. However, it sound very believable, especially if we take into account the plans of Google to expand its web services. Providing video content online may become another gold pot for this online giant.
Google is expected to present its new web service in the nearest two months. The main idea is to create a vast collection of video files on Google server. Web surfers, searching for video online, will be able to preview a short video clip of the chosen video before they proceed to full length material, viewing of which will obviously require paying a fee.
To implement such a project, Google will need to cooperate with video content providers, like film studios or producers, with regard to current copyright laws and restrictions. Initially there can be two payment options for this online video service: the customers will either pay for single viewing of a video film online, or pay a monthly fee to get access to limited or unlimited number of video files. The final scheme of this service will depend on the specific agreements between Google and video content providers.
Meanwhile, video search services are not unique in the Internet. For the time being, similar online video services are available from several companies, like Yahoo and America Online. Yahoo, the major competitor of Google, presented its own video search engine in May. The company has already finalized and signed all necessary agreements with companies providing video content, but the approach demonstrated by Yahoo differs from that expected from Google. Yahoo does not host any video materials, but its engine searches the Internet for appropriate content. The cooperation between Yahoo and content providers is based on the scheme, when companies (for example, news agency Reuters) provide Yahoo with the content links with descriptive tags and information about target material; then Yahoo search engine indexes this information and returns search results as links to providers' servers, thus the users of online video search get only the links to the necessary material, located somewhere in the web. The similar service Singingfish offered by America Online works in the same way.
Google is expected to use different approach in its video search service, providing search not all over the Internet, but only among those resources, which have been submitted by their producers and have been hosted on Google servers.
In view of the unofficial status of the above said information, it may appear to be false, but in case it becomes true, web surfers will get another powerful and interesting web solution from Google.