Japan to Fund Search Engine to Take on Google, Yahoo

Worried that U.S. search engines are too dominant, the Japanese government is considering starting up a rival search engine, reports the E-Commerce Times. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will convene a study group consisting of about 20 Japanese electronics companies and universities to look at the market for search engines and is reportedly ready to spend tens of millions of dollars over a five-year period to develop a viable rival.