Google will not dominate debate on books and the internet at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. As publishers look to gain a foothold online, publishing giant Macmillan is at the heart of two new search initiatives.

MPS Technologies, a software division of Macmillan, is launching BookStore Discovery, its latest technology for publishers. The software, based on the BookStore system announced a year ago, is described by Macmillan commercial director David Sommer as a "simpler" version. It enables the publisher to retain control of the book content it presents on the internet, and to set up its own e-commerce systems for direct sales.

Sommer believes smaller publishers will opt for Discovery because, unlike its predecessor, it does not need to be integrated by IT departments. "The implementation time of BookStore is longer than we envisaged," he admitted.

BookStore technology is also behind the German-language venture Libreka!, which has just been rebranded from its previous incarnation as Volltextsuche Online. It has been developed by the German Publishers and Booksellers Federation (Bšrsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels), which was embarrassed earlier this year when a surfer sidestepped security to download full texts from the site. Sommer said this was because the passwords were posted on the internet. "Now it is impossible to download an entire book, as not every page is on the servers," he says.

At Frankfurt, Libreka! will have 7,000 in-print books available to booksellers, who will be the primary user channel. Publishers placing content on Libreka! are assured that they retain copyright control and that the PDFs cannot be saved, copied or printed.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is hoping to "ramp up" publisher interest in its Live Search Books at the fair, particularly in non-US markets. Clifford Guren, senior director for publishing evangelism, said: "What we are trying to do is help publishers bring their offline content online."

Live Search Books is currently only available in the US, but publishers with rights in the US can participate. Guren would not speculate on when Live Search would launch in the UK or expand to other markets. "What we are focused on is involving more people and continuing to improve the search facility," he said.

Google's presence at the fair is smaller than in previous years, with its only real announcement a microsite on iconic German author Goethe (conveniently, born in Frankfurt). A spokesperson said: "The Goethe microsite demonstrates what Google is up to and what can be done."