Google Inc. is joining several other technology companies in the race to launch an online version of pay television, the Wall Street Journal reported. -
Google recently has approached media companies about licensing their content for an Internet TV service that would stream traditional TV programming, people familiar with the matter say.
Intel Corp. and Sony Corp. are both working on similar offerings. Apple Inc. has pitched various TV licensing ideas to media companies in the past couple of years.
In other Google developments, the company appears to be getting ready to introduce the next generation of its Nexus tablets.
The unveiling is likely to come at an event Wednesday in San Francisco. Google Inc. sent invitations to the media.
The event will be hosted by Sundar Pichai, a Google executive who oversees the company's Android and Chrome operating systems.
Android, the world's leading mobile operating system, powers Google's line-up of Nexus tablets. Those devices have emerged as a popular alternative to Apple Inc.'s iPad.
In Europe, Google's dominance in Internet searching remains under scrutiny from the European Union's competition chief, who says Google isn't doing enough to overcome concerns that it's stifling competition.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, has been investigating for three years whether Google Inc. is abusing its 90 percent market share in Internet searches in Europe to favor its own services.
Google has sought to address the concerns mainly by changing how it displays search results.
EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Wednesday that after hearing from other companies and organizations, "I concluded that proposals that Google sent to us months ago are not enough to overcome our concerns."
He said he sent a letter to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt "asking Google to present better proposals."
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