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Google opens office in Turkey(Turkish Daily News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Google's Developing Markets Director Dennis Woodside said at a press conference on Tuesday that although Google started in a garage in California, today can be reached almost anywhere in the world. And now Google has opened an office in Turkey for users and advertisers to access the company's local products and services. Google is in the business of organizing all the information in the world and then providing it to the general public, Woodside said. From now on, he noted, cellular phones are very important for Google as they connect the provider and user of information to the Web. Cellular: Access point of info on the Internet The company's number-one priority is to find new and innovative ways to provide help to solve problems. Cellular phones are now the access points to obtain information from the Internet, Woodside explained, adding that today the Google search engine is available in 171 languages, providing users with services such as Google Video, Gmail and Google Earth. Turkey, Woodside indicated, has had one of the highest penetration rates in the world for the last three years. "Turkey has a dynamic e-trade and banking sector and, technically speaking, Turkish users have an appetite for the Internet, and Google will serve those Turkish users who are well educated and have a technical grasp of it. The Turkish market was on our list of priorities from the very beginning." 16.5 million Internet users in Turkey: Since 2001 Internet users have doubled in Turkey, reaching 16.5 million in 2006, said Google's Eastern Europe, Middle East and African Region Marketing Director Yonca Brunini. Ninety-one percent of users are using broadband to connect to the Web. They are the ones who spend more time on the Internet, with a tendency to shop there. Sixty-five percent of users are looking for products and services and 63 percent regularly use email. These are followed by chatting, reading newspapers and listening to music online. Last month, 93 percent of Turkish Internet users utilized Google and 86 percent of users in Turkey prefer Google to find and buy a certain product, Brunini indicated. Commercials to add value: While the Internet user spends 22 percent of his/her time on the Web, the amount of investment in Internet advertisements is not enough when compared to the intense interest the end-user displays on the Internet, said Turkey's Google General Manager Erem Karabey. He added that the company believed in value-added advertising. "We provide real-time reporting and analysis. We aim to develop the experience of the Internet as well as expand e-trade as the research before and after a purchase is all done on the Internet. People want to obtain the right information concerning the things they search for. This is a significant opportunity for the world of advertising. We will be able to provide support from our local office in Istanbul. Our team here could be of great use in terms of returns and advertising programs as well as educating Turkish advertisers. What is Google? Google, the most extensive search engine on the Internet, has 450 million visitors globally. The company accommodates more than 7,000 employers worldwide, and at the end of the last quarter Google declared an income of $2.25 billion. Google Turkiye presents its services through graphics, indexes, groups, toolbars and adwords in Turkish |