Iran to Launch National Search Engines Soon

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran plans to launch a number of indigenous internet search engines by the next few months in a bid to facilitate web searching for Iranian users, Iranian Minister of Communication and Information Technology Reza Taqipour announced on Saturday.

Taqipour underlined that his ministry has been serious about the home-grown nature of the engines and a number of programming groups have been working on the project since long ago.

He said that one of these indigenous search engines will be unveiled during the National Week of Government (August 25-31), and added, "Some of these search engines will start work by the end of this Iranian year (ends on March 20, 2013)."

He expressed the hope that the national search engines would attract a growing number of users, given his ministry's growing backup for them.

The minister said the search engines would provide "a vast coverage to encourage people to make use of these Persian search engines with much more confidence and reliance and free from any kind of disruption or problem".

Earlier this month, Taqipour had blasted the existing monopoly and the instrumental use of the worldwide web by a few western countries.

Addressing a gathering of Iranian university lectures and industrial managers, Taqipour said the worldwide web is not a "reliable" network specially in times of crisis.

"Internet should not be in the hands of one or two specific countries," the minister noted, adding that internet is now considered to be a powerful media in economic as well as security and social fields.

The minister pointed to Iran's plan to launch a national internet network, stating that the network will turn threats into opportunities.