London, August 31 :

The internet search engine Google is allowing web surfers to download entire classics such as Dante’s Divine Comedy for free as it extends its controversial Book Search.

The Ausgust 30 launch means readers can now get the entire text of books no longer under copyright - such as Shakespeare’s complete works or Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables - and print them out at home. Until now they could read books out of copyright only online.

Under European Union law, copyright normally expires 70 years after the death of the author but Google has taken a more conservative approach. In Europe, the project means that books published up until the mid-19th century will now be available online and can be printed out. Readers can also search texts for key phrases and passages.

Google says it aims to make the world’s books “discoverable online” by offering both well known classics and obscure titles on every conceivable subject. The search engine’s foray into the world of books has riled publishers around the world but the company’s academic backers were keen to stress yesterday that it had been misunderstood.

Reg Carr, director of Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, a partner in the project, said it would open up the world of literature and make available more obscure titles such as scientific tracts and long-forgotten poetry from the 18th century.

“Public domain books, long out of copyright and seen only by the fortunate few in the great research libraries of the world, are about to come out of the closet in their millions and into the homes of internet users all over the world.”

Other industry experts said digitising books from around the world would also breathe new life into libraries. Joel Rickett, deputy editor of the publishing magazine the Bookseller, said, “It is really interesting for libraries because it is an amazing opportunity for them to put stuff they have got sitting on dusty shelves unbrowsed in front of people.”

As for the threat to booksellers, Mr Rickett said people were unlikely to replace a trip to a store to buy an old classic with a download from the web resulting in piles of paper. “It can be done but you can’t really take them to the beach or in the bath,” he said.

The Book Search Service forms part of Google’s ambitious Library Project, which has seen it form partnerships with major institutions around the world including the University of California, Harvard, the New York Public Library, Oxford University and the Library of Congress.

Under the Library Project, if a book is in copyright, users just get basic information such as the title, author, information about which library it is in or where it can be bought, and at most a few excerpts.

Even publishing snippets has unsettled some publishers.

The Association of American Publishers last year filed a lawsuit against Google, alleging the company’s plans to scan and digitally distribute the text of library collections would violate copyright protections.