Google quietly brought Play Books today to four new countries: Austria, Belgium, Ireland, and Portugal. The aforementioned countries only had access to Google Play Apps and Music before, so I'm sure the book lovers among those of you who reside in the four territories are ecstatic.

The new Books section as seen in Ireland

Google has been very slow to roll out various content stores worldwide. The last time Play Books expanded was all the way back in March and only included one country - Mexico. Before that, it was India in February. And that's about it for this year. France got Books last July before that. Not a very good pace, is it? I realize content deals are very hard to strike, but Google, one of the largest tech companies in the world, is moving at a snail's pace.

All in all, Google Play Books are now live in the following 18 countries:

  1. Australia
  2. Austria
  3. Belgium
  4. Brazil
  5. Canada
  6. France
  7. Germany
  8. India
  9. Ireland
  10. Italy
  11. Japan
  12. Mexico
  13. Portugal
  14. South Korea
  15. Spain
  16. Russia
  17. United Kingdom
  18. United States

New Belgian, Portuguese, and Austrian Play Stores with Play Books are pictured above

If you live in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, or Portugal, head to the Play Store's new Books section and don't forget to download the Books app from the widget below.

Thanks, Raphael Köll, for the Austrian screenshot.