Google Inc has reached a legal settlement with authors and major publishers that paves the way for readers to search through millions of copyrighted books online, browse passages and purchase copies.

Under Tuesday's settlement, Google will pay $125 million to create a Book Rights Registry, where authors and publishers can register works and receive compensation from institutional subscriptions or book sales.

The settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers draws to a close a three-year legal challenge of Google's plan to make many of the world's great books searchable online.

The lawsuit filed by publishers McGraw-Hill Cos Inc, Pearson Plc's Pearson Education and Penguin Group (USA) units, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster and John Wiley & Sons Inc charged that Google's attempts to scan works without permission infringed on copyright protections.

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