Google free to extend its dominance of web search

Google is free to extend its dominance of the US$50 billion internet search market after US regulators ended an investigation into whether the company unfairly skewed search results to disadvantage competitors.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded after a 20-month antitrust probe that Google was motivated more by wanting to improve its search results and user experience than by a desire to stifle competition, said chairman Jon Leibowitz, who drew a distinction between dominating a market and doing so unfairly.

The FTC's decision clears the way for Google to continue adding features that have helped it beat back Microsoft and Yahoo to become the world's top search provider and most valuable internet company.

"Nothing in the decision is a serious blow to any of Google's ambitions," said Whit Andrews, an analyst for technology research firm Gartner. The FTC didn't get into the question of "where the boundaries are going to get drawn" in the search business, he said.

Google, which makes money by selling advertising next to search results, should grab 76 per cent of the US search market this year, up from 75 per cent last year. Microsoft should get 9 per cent while Yahoo may land 6 per cent, according to EMarketer.

The global internet search market is expected to grow to more than US$50 billion this year, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, ZenithOptimedia, an advertising research unit of Paris-based Publicis, said in a report.