Google to fight Amazon

GOOGLE has approached a book publisher to gauge interest in a program to allow consumers to rent online copies of new books for a week, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The proposed fee is 10 percent of the book's list price, the Journal reported, citing an unnamed publisher.

The discussion with the publisher indicates Google may move toward adding a digital book-renting service.

Google has a separate book program, the Google Print Library Project, that has attracted controversy for its aim to scan millions of books that consumers could search online.