Google to offer books online

Google is expanding its role in the publishing world from a search engine for books to a distributor making entire books available to read online. The company launched a new program Friday that allows traditional book publishers in the United States and Britain to sell and set the price for access to full copies of their books, Google spokeswoman Megan Lamb said Monday. Consumers who purchase the access cannot save copies of the books or individual pages to their computers and can only view them through a Web browser. Mercury News has a report.