Click here for the Google UK website, with links to Google Earth, Google Images and Google Maps.

Google is the world's leading internet search engine. In addition to its main search service, it provides Google Earth, which provides worldwide zooming aerial photographs, Google Images, Google Maps and Google Directory.

Google also offers the Froogle price comparison service, Google Groups for online discussions,  and Google News, which automatically collates news stories from thousands of sources.

Google around the world. National Google services include: Google Argentina, Google Australia, Google Austria, Google Belgium, Google Burundi, Google Bolivia, Google Brasil, Google Bahamas, Google Belize, Google Botswana, Google Canada, Google Congo, Google Chile, Google China, Google Colombia, Google Costa Rica, Google Cuba, Google Denmark, Google Dominica, Google Ecuador, Google Fiji, Google France, Google Germany, Google Gibraltar, Google Greece, Google Guatemala, Google Honduras, Google India, Google Indonesia, Google Ireland, Google Italy, Google Ivory Coast, Google Jamaica, Google Japan, Google Kenya, Google Korea, Google Lesotho, Google Luxemburg, Google Latvia, Google Malta, Google Mauritius, Google Malawi, Google Mexico, Google Malaysia, Google Namibia, Google Nicaragua, Google Netherlands, Google Norway, Google New Zealand, Google Romania, Google Russia, Google South Africa, Google Spain, Google Sweden, Google Singapore, Google Switzerland, Google Turkey, Google Uganda, Google United Kingdom, Google USA, Google Uruguay, Google Venezuela, Google Vietnam, Google Zambia.

Google, with more than 6,000 employees based in Mountain View, California, is the world's largest search engine. Google's computer system comprises tens of thousands of personal computers, linked together in several secretly-located server farms. They run a simplified version of the Linux operating system.

Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1996. Both were studying for their doctorates at Stanford University. The main innovation in their search engine was to use backward links as a means of ranking search returns. Backward links are links from other websites to any website; this gives the website a Google Page Rank. The search method has subsequently become much more complex, with more than a hundred factors being taken into account in ranking returns. The overall aim is to bring to the top of the rankings the most reputable and well regarded websites, and to do this entirely automatically and without human intervention.

In October 2006 Google acquired video exchange website YouTube.