U.S. state AGs said looking at Google books deal

WASHINGTON May 8 (Reuters) - State attorneys general are looking into a proposed settlement that Google Inc (GOOG.O) has made with author and publisher groups that would allow the Internet giant to digitize millions of books, a participant in a recent discussion on the matter told Reuters on Friday.

A group of attorneys general discussed the deal in a one-hour conference call on Tuesday, said the director of the Internet Archive, Peter Brantley.

The U.S. Justice Department is also making inquiries about the deal Google struck to settle copyright disputes arising from its project to put millions of books on the Internet.

But the deal has come under fire because it is silent on what Google would charge libraries, who fear the service will become a very pricey must-have.

"There was no indication that there was any specific activity planned," by the attorneys general, said Brantley, whose Internet Archive also digitizes books. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Tim Dobbyn)