The state has opened its databases and Web pages to Google and other large search engines, simplifying searches for everything from health statistics to job postings through the Department of Workforce Services.

The process doesn't put new information online; rather it "optimizes the way you do the searches," said Steve Fletcher, Utah's chief information officer.

Most government sites are not organized in a way that allows commercial search engines, like Google, to access the databases, so many people would have to root around on a state page to find what they were looking for.

Fletcher and his staff have spent the past six months going department by department allowing Google's search software to have easier access to state information.

The state has also partnered with Google to create a custom search engine on Utah.gov that culls from all government Web sites.

Search for anything from Zion National Park to elections and the special search engine will pull results from each city, county and state agency.

Google teamed with three other states on this pilot project, the others being California, Arizona and Virginia. The long-term goal is to get the federal government to open up.

Google does not charge for the partnership and is not gaining any sort of exclusive access to information.

J.L. Needham, who is leading Google's efforts, says the company has an interest to make sure that when people use Google to search for information, they "find the most relevant sources from government."

mcanham@sltrib.com