Now, read books on Google!

The next time you want to read a book, log on to Google!

Google, the world's top search engine, is all set to offer books from five famous libraries online, unlocking a fabulous treasure of information.

The libraries of Harvard, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Oxford, and The New York Public Library have entered into a deal with Google where the search giant will scan the entire collection available in these libraries and bring the information on millions of books online.

Google is now working with libraries to digitally scan books from their collections, and over time will integrate this content into the Google index, to make it searchable for users worldwide.

While the books without copyright will be fully displayed, those bound copyright rules will only display short excerpts, depending on the topic searched.

"Even before we started Google, we dreamed of making the incredible breadth of information that librarians so lovingly organize searchable online," said Larry Page, Google co-founder and president of products, said in a media release.

"Today we're pleased to announce this programme to digitise the collections of these amazing libraries so that every Google user can search them instantly," he added.

"Our work with libraries further enhances the existing Google Print program, which enables users to find matches within the full text of books, while publishers and authors monetize that information," Page said.

"Google's mission is to organize the world's information, and we're excited to be working with libraries to help make this mission a reality," he said.

Links to public libraries would be provided so that the books can be borrowed.

The search giant has also developed its own software and machinery for digitising the information and to handle delicate books without damaging them.

Google will also scan books that are out of print. So in future the libraries will also have a online back-up for all the books.

This ambitious project to include about 15 million books is expected to take at least ten years to complete. This move, say analysts, will help Google stay ahead of its competitors, Yahoo! and Microsoft's MSN and also to expand its reach beyond the Internet to encyclopedias.

While it is a dream come true for the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, for millions of people across the globe, there couldn't have been anything better online.