Google testing TV search, reports

BEIJING, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- Search giant Google is testing a new television-programming search service in conjunction with the Dish Network Corp., a report in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday said.

The service runs on television set-top-boxes containing Google designed software and allows users to find specific shows on TV satellite services as well as on Google's YouTube.

The move marks the latest in a series of developments in which companies are attempting to merge broadcast television with Internet provided services. Last week, TiVo Inc. announced new digital video recorders that blend broadcast and online content.

Google's project is being tested by company employees and their families who can enter their enquiries via a keyboard. The service could be discontinued or rolled out to a wider audience at anytime, a source told the Journal. Google refused to issue a statement saying the company does not commment on rumor or speculation. Dish Network has also declined to comment on the reports.

Whether the service rolls out to the general public is unclear. Google often tries out projects in private before allowing a select group to try them. It's colaborative communication tool Google Wave still remains in a development stage and has only been rolled out to around a million users worldwide.

Some services are even dropped, depending upon user uptake and feedback. Google Video no longer allows uploads and has effectively been replaced with YouTube.

Google Notebook has been replaced by Google Docs and its VOIP service Grandcentral has been incorporated into Google Voice. Other services have been discontinued altogether such as Hello which allowed users to send images across the Internet and publish them to blogs.