17.5mil Malaysians regularly turn to the Internet to research local shops and services. They look for what to eat online, they go online to find information about movies, they search for a plumber, and they do research for their next gadget purchase online.

SME Corp figures show that out of the 700,000 Malaysian SMEs that are currently operating in Malaysia, only 100,000 have a website.

These businesses are not online because it’s either too expensive, too complicated, or they just don’t have the time.

That is why Google Malaysia is launching Get Malaysian Business Online (GMBO), a new initiative to bring more Malaysian businesses online and and provide a boost to the local online ecosystem in partnership with Suruhanjaya Komunikasi dan Multimedia Malaysia (SKMM), .My Domain Registry and ITrain.

Through GMBO, a Malaysian businesses with zero online presence should take no longer than one working day (upon domain approval) to get their business websites up and running with no strings attached.

GMBO’s goal is to help at least 50,000 Malaysian businesses set up a website and be active online within a year. The first 10,000 SMEs that sign up will get everything absolutely free, including domain name and hosting for a year. Annual renewals are discounted so they are only RM23 per year. And, Google will potentially invest up to RM10mil over this year-long programme, including free advertising.

Sajith Sivanandan, Country Head of Google Malaysia said: “We think there is tremendous growth potential for Malaysian SMEs and this programme is part of our long term commitment to the country which we hope can bring about tangible economic benefits for all Malaysians.”

Until a few weeks ago, BHBH Creative Enterprise, which does Halal pastries, and Urbanwaves Sdn Bhd, which designs and makes custom ladies shoes, were a few of these Malaysian small-medium business owners.

Now, Mrs. Aziana of BHBH and Ms. Hiral Doshi of Urbanwaves have their new GMBO websites at http://www.byhandbyheart.com.my and http://www.zenithdivas.com.my for their respective businesses -- their customers can now find them online. Both companies are among the first of what is hoped to be 50,000 Malaysian businesses to set up a website through GMBO.

For this initiative, Google has also built a platform called Business SiteBuilder, a free-of-charge business website creation tool which also automatically makes a site mobile-optimised for smartphones as well as feature phones. Business SiteBuilder is designed to knock down the common barriers to small businesses getting online by making it easy, quick and free to set up and maintain a website.

Malaysia is the first country in the region to have access to this facility.

“SKMM is glad to be sponsoring the 10,000 domains for the ‘early birds’ to this programme, and together with Google and our other partners we intend to take GMBO nationwide,” said Dato’ Mohamed Sharil Tarmizi, Chairman of SKMM.

“It is our fervent hope that this attractive package can help SMEs to register their business online where they are able to widen their market and increase sales, said Tengku Intan Narqiah Tengku Othman, Chief Executive Officer of .my DOMAIN REGISTRY. “Having your own website also signifies that you are serious in business dealings besides having local presence with .my domain name.”

To set-up a website, all a Malaysian business has to do is visit the GMBO site at http://www.getMYbusinessonline.com.my/ and enter their business details such as license number, business phone number, and a few other items such as street address and opening hours.

“We will be conducting GMBO training around several major locations nationwide including East Malaysia and we look forward to exploring the vast potential of the Internet and assisting our homegrown SMEs,” said Bikesh Lakhmichand, CEO of ITrain Sdn Bhd.