Germany Quits Search Engine Project

Germany has opted out of the government funded European search engine project, in partnership with France.

The multi -million dollar search engine project called Quaero, which means "I seek" in Latin, was officially announced in April 2005 by French President Jacques Chirac and former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder. The local search medium for video and audio content was aimed at toppling the popularity of Google in Europe, but Germany has pulled out due to a disagreement between the two countries. It may be noted that the project had changed hands after Schroder was defeated in the polls and Christian Democratic Angela Merkel took office as Chancellor of Germany.

Germany and France had initially discussed committing $1.3 billion to $2.6 billion to Quaero, in a phased manner, over five years. Technology companies in the two countries had also pledged their contributions to the project. However, differences in opinion about the basic design and form of the search project, led to the drift.

While German officials said they will now concentrate on a smaller domestic research effort, the French government said it will continue to develop Quaero, possibly with funding assistance from the European Union.