Google Inc has begun allowing participants in news stories to post comments about the articles through its news service, a move that is raising questions in the media industry, a report said on Thursday.
The Internet search giant's 'Google News' posts links and excerpts to articles from more than 4,500 English-language news sources, and in an experimental project, the company this week began soliciting comments from individuals and groups cited in stories it carries and displaying the comments alongside links to the original stories, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The company, which is working to verify the identities of those posting comments, said it started the project to make additional perspectives on the news available to readers.
But its announcement of the feature on a Google blog late Tuesday attracted attention among media organisations, which have at times had uneasy relationships with the Internet company, including fights over its right to excerpt their content in Google News without paying.
Some media watchers questioned whether Google is "effectively setting itself up as an ombudsman to field gripes with their coverage, and whether that is an appropriate role," the Journal said.
Other news sites allow anyone to comment on stories -- without requiring that they have a direct link to them -- and carry links to blogs with such commentary.