Google is testing a version of its search engine aimed at blind and partially sighted users

Google Accessible Search ranks results based on how accessible they are to visually impaired users

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Google offers search for the visually impaired

Version of search engine aimed at blind and partially sighted users

Will Head, vnunet.com 20 Jul 2006

Google is testing a version of its search engine aimed at blind and partially sighted users.

Google Accessible Search ranks results not just by their relevance but by how accessible they are to visually impaired visitors.

Explaining the rationale behind the service, Google said: "In the past, visually impaired Google users have often waded through a lot of inaccessible websites and pages to find the required information.

"Our goal is to provide a more useful and accessible web search experience for the blind and visually impaired."

The search giant explained that Accessible Search uses a number of elements to determine the accessibility of a web page.

"We take into account several factors, including a given page's simplicity, how much visual imagery it carries and whether or not its primary purpose is immediately viable with keyboard navigation," said Google.

The company urges web hosts wanting to improve the content of their pages to follow the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which encourages web developers to consider factors that can make their pages unusable to certain users.

An Accessible Search for 'Google' currently ranks Blogger.com as the most accessible result, as opposed to Google's homepage in the regular search.

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