Story Topics: Iraq - Google

ReadWriteWeb — During a ceremony in Iraq's National Museum in Bagdad today, Google's CEO Eric Schmidt announced that the company will digitize the museum's collections. By early next year, all of these images will be available online for free. The museum lost a large part of its collection to looting in 2003. Except for a number of photo ops and press conferences, the museum ...More has remained closed to the public since the beginning of the war in 2003. Most of the museum's collection remains in storage. Sponsor According to Reuters , the company has already taken 14,000 photographs in the museum. It's not clear how Google plans to present these images, though it seems as if Google plans a bit more than just a simple gallery of the photos it took. Eric Schmidt promises "a few surprises" for when the site launches early next year. Google and the U.S. State Department will share the cost of this project. A Government-Sponsored Infomercial for Google? While this sounds like a great idea, the New York Times also reports that there are also some interesting politics at play here. Parts of the museum's collections, for example, have already been digitized by Italy's National Research Center. This collection is already available online . Today's event was sponsored by the US Embassy in Iraq, where, according to the New York Times, US Ambassador Christopher R. Hill described the digitization project as "part of an effort spearheaded by the State Department to bring technology to Iraq." Some of the invited journalists, however, argued that the event was nothing else but a "government-sponsored infomercial" for Google. Discuss ...Less

Reuters: Technology News — BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Google is putting thousands of images of ancient artifacts at Iraq's National Museum online, the Web search leader said on Tuesday, part of a ...More U.S. bid to entice foreign firms to invest in Iraq. ...Less

Comment is free | guardian.co.uk — CEO Eric Schmidt announced that the search engine will feature 14,000 pictures of the museum's artefacts It spread across the web like a wildfire: Google chief Eric ...More Schmidt visited Baghdad today. Yes, just like a statesman. He attended a ceremony with the US Ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, at Iraq's national museum, where he announced that the search giant would post photographs of the museum's ancient treasures on the net early next year. The museum - which hosts artefacts from Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian cultures - hit the headlines when it was looted in April 2003 during the Iraq war. Its director, Amira Edan, estimates that only around 5,000 of the 15,000 artefacts taken have been recovered so far. The US has been criticised for not using troops to protect the museum and other cultural institutions with their troops. Now Google has taken more than 14,000 pictures of the treasures to be put online. That is good. Due to security concerns the artefacts of the cradle of civilisation have been largely closed to the public, even after the museum opened earlier this year. But it leaves a strange feeling as well, with private company Google once again serving a more public interest. Google Digital media Eric Schmidt Iraq Mercedes Bunz guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds ...Less

Digits — Google’s chief executive Eric Schmidt said during a trip to Baghdad this week that Iraq’s stabilization could lead to business opportunities in the country. ...More Mr. Schmidt was part of a delegation, led by Peter Pace, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to encourage business development in Iraq. U.S. Army Google CEO Eric Schmidt, right, visiting Baghdad with former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace. “After this tremendous investment in Iraq, we see business recovery finally happening,” he said in a video interview provided by the U.S. Army. “The creation of a new Iraqi state ultimately means business opportunities for global firms.” “Google’s interested in making sure that Iraq ends up being an open and transparent democracy — after all, information makes a big difference in everybody’s lives,” Mr. Schmidt added. The delegation met with both military and civilian leaders in Baghdad, he said. “It’s clear that the government is reaching out now to business, to try to get us to begin our part in the reconstruction of Iraq.” Wearing khakis and a blazer, Mr. Schmidt wasn’t dressed much differently than he was at a media-mogul retreat in Sun Valley this summer. When asked about his perspective on the ground, “the overwhelming impression that I have of Iraq is of the courage of the soldiers and the people who assist the soldiers in doing what they needed to do here,” he said. “The courage to come to Iraq and do it is something — independent of your view of the war and the politicians — these are people to be celebrated.” ...Less

Times of London — British and American officials secretly discussed overthrowing Saddam Hussein two years before the invasion of Iraq, the public inquiry into the war was told today.

Digital Daily — QOTD After this tremendous investment in Iraq, we see business recovery finally happening. The creation of a new Iraqi state ultimately means business opportunities ...More for global firms. Google’s interested in making sure that Iraq ends up being an open and transparent democracy — after all, information makes a big difference in everybody’s lives.” – Google CEO Eric Schmidt ...Less