Google Cozies Up To Four State Governments

Google announced it would work with these state governments and index details about state services that may not be easy to find. Their work will connect people to a variety of sources, like state employment in Utah, colonial history in Virginia, and real estate agent information in Arizona.

“California state government provides tremendous resources online for the public to learn about our great state,” California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “Our partnership with Google will empower Californians to know more about our government and provide better access to services and helpful information.”

Google’s Custom Search Engine will be the driver of the offerings each state plans to make for their citizens. The product is free to government agencies.

At their Public Sector website, Google said as many as four out of five Internet users reach government websites by hitting a search engine first, citing July 2006 figures from comScore.

Virginia and Utah in particular have made big connections through Google’s product. The Custom Search Engines on each site permit website users at Virginia.gov and Utah.gov to search for information and find it from federal, state, or local sources with a single query.

Utah’s participation may seem a little surprising to observers. In early April, Utah banned competitor keyword bidding, a decision that would be a hindrance to Google. It is thought the law will not pass a Constitutional test if challenged.