Google does not appear to like being upstaged. In the wake of this month's announcement of Amazon Pages, Google has reportedly approached (subscription required) a book publisher about offering short-term rentals of new books online. For a fee, buyers who cannot wait to get their hands on a copy of a book will be granted complete online access for a week. Access will be via the Internet only; no downloading or printing allowed.

According to the publisher in question, Google suggested charging 10 percent of the book's list price as a rental fee, which the publisher characterized as too low.

Google's book-rental gambit appears to be a response to the upcoming Amazon Pages, which will give buyers the ability to buy just a portion of a book (e.g., the two chapters covered in the syllabus) for online access only. Another upcoming Amazon offering will give book buyers complete online access to a book in conjunction with the purchase of a printed copy.

Google has developed quite a fascination with the printed word over the past year or so. The Google Print Library, which has been operating in fits and starts since its inception, plans to digitize the library collections of a handful of universities. Since Google began scanning, it has been hit with lawsuits on grounds of copyright infringement. Earlier this month, a beta of Google Print went live, much to the consternation of some authors and publishers.

Since eBooks failed to catch the imagination of the book-buying public, print publishers have been leery of embracing the Internet as a content delivery system. They are enamored of Amazon's approach, which is a novel means of content delivery that should result in additional revenues for publishers while respecting the authoritah of the almighty copyright. If Google can come up with an attractive price for an online book rental service and a rock-solid means of safeguarding against copyright infringement, it may cause publishers to overlook the search giant's perceived peccadillos with Google Print.