Internet search firm Google has launched its Froogle price comparison Web site in Britain, expanding the company"s e-commerce business and putting it head to head with partners such as Kelkoo. Froogle UK (https://froogle.google.co.uk) works like the popular Google search engine, but only returns search results from online retailers. Queries for "digital cameras" or "black socks" return a list of products sortable by price or by merchant.
The announcement is the latest expansion from Google following its $1.67 billion initial public offering in August. It said earlier this month it would allow users to search entire books as well as search via text messaging. Unlike some e-commerce search sites, merchants do not have to pay to be included in Froogle search results. Google makes its money from selling text ads that are linked to search terms and appear alongside search results.