WP: Google to Launch Government Search Site

Google to Launch Government Search Site
By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 15, 2006; Page D01

It's finally happening: The ever-expanding Google Inc. is making its move on the federal government.

Today the company plans to announce a new online product aimed at being a one-stop shop for searching federal government Web sites. The launch of Google U.S. Government Search, http://usgov.google.com , targets federal employees who often need to search across several government agencies.

The site is also designed to help citizens navigate convoluted pages of government-speak and tailors news feeds to their interests. Users can customize the layout of their page to remain updated on government-related news from official and commercial sources, including the White House, Department of Defense, The Washington Post and CNN. Google is also working with agencies to increase the frequency of news updates to keep content current.

"People are moving away from directory access to enter these sites," said Kevin Gough, product manager for Google U.S. Government Search. "They just want to type in a few words to pinpoint the information they need."

The product is an outgrowth of the company's flagship site, which has the largest share of the U.S. search market -- 50 percent in April, according to Nielsen-NetRatings. It aims to "unify disparate Web sites," Gough said, so people have a single source to find everything from Social Security policy to income tax forms....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/14/AR2006061402359.html?nav=hcmodule

gov websites are some of the worst when you are trying to find something.

http://www.law.wisc.edu/blogs/wisblawg/2005/02/google_uncle_sam_for_gov_mil_s.html
http://digbig.com/4jgke

Gotta give props to Google's PR firm though.