European Union regulators are asking publishers and authors for feedback on how Google Inc's book-scanning project will affect copyright in Europe.

They plan to meet copyright holders on September 7 to evaluate a US$125 million settlement between Google and publishers in the United States.

EU spokesman Oliver Drewes said officials wanted to collect the views of European publishers, authors and consumers. In the US, the Justice Department is considering legal action over the deal, which critics say could give Google too much control over electronic copies of out-of-print books.

Google believes the settlement would improve access to books gathering dust at libraries across the US.

EU official Viviane Reding said earlier this month that copyright could not be traced for more than 90 percent of books in Europe's national libraries and this was holding back a European answer to the Google project, Europeana.

                                                                                                       Source: Agencies