Amazon launches new search engine

A subsidiary of online retailer Amazon A9 has quietly launched its own search engine.

The trial search site, called simply A9, allows standard web searches as well as results from searching the text inside books offered on Amazon.

Extra features of the site include a notepad that lets people jot down notes about the sites they visit and the ability to block pop-up ads. Currently, all the results A9 returns, and some advertisements, are generated using Google.

The news comes as firms such as Yahoo! and Microsoft start to unveil plans for their own-brand search sites.