Apparently believing that a controversial project by any other name won't raise as much stink, Google has rebranded the much-maligned Google Print as Google Book Search, which Google says better describes the project's purpose - allowing users to "search the full text of books to find ones that interest them and learn where to buy or borrow them," according to a post on the official Google blog (via paidContent) by product marketing manager Jen Grant.

"No, we don't think that this new name will change what some folks think about this program. But we do believe it will help a lot of people understand better what we're doing," writes Grant.

"We want to make all the world's books discoverable and searchable online, and we hope this new name will help keep everyone focused on that important goal," she adds.

Previous stories:

- Google Print Offers up First Set of Scanned Books
- Now Publishers' Turn to Sue Google over Project
- Eight Google Print Sites Open in Europe
- The Authors Guild Sues Google over Library Project
- Google Expands Book Search; Faces More Publisher Backlash
- Google Puts Brakes on Book Scanning
- Another Group Asks Google to Stop Digitizing Books
- Google Library Project Prompts Privacy Concerns
- Google Enhances Book Search
- Scholarly Publishers Press Google on Digital Library Copyrights
- Google to Digitize, Offer Up, Great Libraries