By Agency Reporter

Wednesday, 19 Jan 2011

Google Incorporated’s smaller rivals were asked by European regulators investigating the company’s business practices whether they were prevented from competing more broadly with the world’s largest search engine.

Specialised “vertical search” services were asked if they had considered adding extra products to compete head-to-head with Google and how much that would cost, according to one of three questionnaires obtained by Bloomberg News that were sent out as part of a European Union antitrust probe.

Google is being investigated by the European Commission over claims that it discriminated against other services in its search results and stopped some websites from accepting rival ads.

A Microsoft Corporation Internet unit and other competitors were among the complainants.

The 27-nation EU’s antitrust authority asked rivals if they had “ever considered/planned upgrading” their “vertical online search services in order to introduce a horizontal search service.”

Vertical search engines limit their answers to one category, such as travel information. Google, Microsoft’s Bing and others offer horizontal search engines that comb all categories for answers.

Another question sought views on whether Google’s search function hurt vertical search engines and if companies were “aware of the existence of features in Google’s natural search algorithm” which “might penalise the ranking or display of your vertical search websites.”

Companies were also asked if they had “ever noticed a sudden significant change” in their Google search ranking and whether that triggered a plunge in visitor numbers.

A spokesman for Google in Brussels, Al Verney, said the company “worked hard to do the right thing by our users and our industry” by ensuring that ads were clearly marked and that users and advertisers could take data with them when they switch services. “There’s always going to be room for improvement and so we’ll be working with the commission to address any concerns,” Verney said.

Source: Punch