Google pledges cooperation with German competition probe

The US Internet search giant Google said on Monday that it would cooperate with a German competition probe after rivals and press associations filed complaints.

"The competition authority has informed us of complaints from Google rivals ... and we are naturally ready to explain our commercial policies and products and are sure they respect German and European legislation," a Google spokesman told AFP.

The German competition watchdog confirmed it had asked Google for information but that the request "did not imply any kind of infraction."

The US group faces three reclamations, from the Microsoft subsidiary Ciao, the map-making group Euro-cities, and the media publishing federations VDZ and BDZV, a spokesman for the watchdog said.

The media federations complain that Google News, Google Images and Google Video have used their content without authorisation, earning advertising revenues as a result.

Google has already been attacked in connection with its ambitious project to place a vast amount of the world's knowledge online, while Google Street View has been accused of violating privacy laws.

(c) 2010 AFP