Google faces [pounds sterling]1bn fine for 'cheating'.(News)

Byline: Sean Poulter Consumer Affairs Editor

GOOGLE faces a fine of more than [pounds sterling]1billion after the European Commission launched an investigation into claims it is abusing its power.

It is said to have manipulated its web search technology to make it difficult for consumers to find links to rivals' sites and services.

Google has enormous power given the fact that more than 90 per cent of all internet searches carried out in Britain and Europe use its service.

Several competitors say links to their services appear too low on Google's search results. They also claim when Google offers similar services - such as online price comparison - it puts its own links higher on the list of results.

The Commission is taking action after complaints from the UK-based price comparison site Foundem, the shopping site Ciao, which is owned by Microsoft, and French legal search engine ejustice.fr.

The investigation is the first of its kind into Google. If found guilty it could, in theory, be fined up to 10 per cent of its European turnover, which could be as much as [pounds sterling]1.6billion. In previous cases, the Commission fined the computer chip maker Intel some [pounds sterling]900million and Microsoft [pounds sterling]1.2billion for similar abuses of power.

The Commission stressed the decision to investigate does not imply any wrongdoing by Google. It has notified the U.S. Department of Justice of its investigation, which is likely to take 'at least a few months'.

Competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said: 'Rigorous competition of all players, including smaller and innovative ones must be preserved for the future.' Google maintains it has done nothing wrong, adding: 'We have worked hard to do the right thing by our users and our industry. But there's always going to be room for improvement, and so we'll be working with the Commission to address any concerns.' Google also said there were 'compelling reasons' why the complaining companies 'were ranked poorly' in searches. It said Foundem 'duplicates 79 per cent of its content from other sites, and we have consistently informed webmasters that our algorithms disadvantage duplicate sites'.