Google Aids Visually Impaired Searching

Google enhances features of its search engine to accommodate visually impaired user queries.

Google is changing features of the site to accommodate those who are blind or have failing vision. Google made the decision to enhance its search engine earlier this year, and the project was spearheaded by Google engineer Dr. T.V. Raman. The decision was made following the restructuring of the visually based security feature "CAPTCHA", to make the site usable for the visually impaired. Visually impaired users could not gain access to Google features such as GMail, Google forums or Google accounts because the CAPTCHA security system required users to type in and verify the letters they saw on the page in order to create an account. Using the enhanced version of the search engine, visually impaired users may access the same advanced features of Google as every other user. Raman reported to Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Autmn Davis is a staff writer for Murdok covering ebusiness and technology.