Google Launches Local Search Engine for Palestinian Territories

posted on: Aug 19, 2009

Google, one of the top search engines in the world, launched a local Arabic search engine for the Palestinian territorities Thursday, which will enable Palestinians to access more relevant data based on their searches, the Lebanese daily The Daily Star reported Friday.

Localized searches will also enable more effective targeted advertising via Google’s AdWords software, which places ads using search terms and location based on IP address.

Nassir M., who runs an online business from the Palestinian territory, told The Daily Star the new domain will “revolutionize the way we work here.”
“It will take time to build up the site, but soon Palestinians will begin to use more local services and rely more on local business, especially with the region-specific ads,” he said.

The Midde East tech blog ArabCrunch confirmed that users in Gaza have been able to access the new Google domain as well.

Meris Lutz
Los Angeles Times