Google launches Google News in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – September 18, 2008 – Google Inc. today launched Google News in Malaysia, providing 14.9 million Malaysian Internet users the latest news from more than 4,500 English-language sources, including a wide range of Malaysian media outlets. Google News for Malaysia is available at http://news.google.com.my. With this launch there are now 56 regional editions of Google News available in 20 different languages.

Google News is a comprehensive news search service that enables users to easily access a variety of perspectives on up-to-the-minute news by linking to stories from thousands of news outlets around the world. Instead of reading just one article from a single source on a story, Google News users are encouraged to read several articles from a number of different publications, and search for more on any subject they might be interested in.

As an example of the diversity of stories that can be found on Google News Malaysia, the top story today follows the latest political development in the country through more than 1000 local and international news articles (see screenshot below). Clicking through to the Malaysia section of Google News, users can find an even larger variety of local stories, such as assurances by Fonterra Brands Malaysia that their milk products are safe, and the higher prices of foodstuffs as a result of the festive season comprising Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Deepavali. In the Sci/Tech section, learn about the goal to get five-star ratings for schools by 2010 and the current status of the WiMAX wireless broadband services in Malaysia. Or, on a lighter note, track Lee Chong Wei’s progress in the Japan Open under the Sports section.

Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, Product Manager for Google News, said, “Google News is great for both users and publishers. Our mission is to help users find the stories they’re looking for as quickly as possible. Google News lets users easily check the most recent headlines from publishers around the world and then read those stories on the publisher’s site. By making it easier for users to search news stories we help more people find more of the content created by publishers. Stories from publishers that readers already know and love, as well as stories from sources they may never have known existed. Readers get more stories -- and publishers get more readers on their site.”

On Google News, users can scan headlines and brief snippets of stories, then, click on the headline to be taken directly to the news publisher's website. By collating articles from numerous different sources in one place, Google makes the news more accessible and more interesting — encouraging people to read more, benefiting users and the news industry as a whole.

News organizations who would like to be included in Google News can find information for inclusion in the “Help for Publishers” section (http://www.google.com/support/news_pub/bin/?hl=en) at the bottom of the Google News front page.