WASHINGTON: US search engine giant Google is planning to introduce Android-based television software in May which will enable the users to access
television through internet.

The new software, designed to open set-top boxes, TVs and other devices to more content from the internet, is attracting interest from partners that include Sony Corp., Intel Corp. and Logitech International SA, which are expected to offer products that support the software, according to people familiar with the matter.

However, none has so far discussed the efforts publicly, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Google, of Mountain View, California, is currently planning on sharing some details about the technology with more than 3,000 developers expected to attend its conference in San Francisco May 19 and 20.

One person familiar with the matter cautioned that the company could also decide to delay discussing it until the technology is more mature. Google uses the annual conference to showcase a range of technologies of interest to developers.

The decision to address developers suggests that the internet giant may be hoping to kick-start a race to build applications for its TV platform, much in the same way that Google, Apple Inc. and others have courted developers for smartphones.

The app-store approach has already begun to gain traction among some players in the TV market, too, aided by the advent of TVs, Blu-ray players and other hardware with internet connections.

The service, which uses the new Google technology, allows users to access and search across programming from the internet as well as Dish's conventional programming. The test, which began last year, is still limited to a very small number of the company's employees and their families. '