Google Inc

Frustrated by a slow and antiquated computer system, the city of Los Angeles is weighing a plan to replace its e-mail and records retention software with a service provided by Google, a move that could allow the Internet giant to retain sensitive records transmitted by the police and other municipal agencies.

Internet search provider Google Inc. announced it would expand the workforce at its European headquarters by 600, or 75%, over the next two to three years. The company's Dublin, Ireland, office, established in 2003, supports its European, Middle Eastern and African activities and is Google's largest base outside the United States. The Mountain View, Calif.

Google Inc.'s hot new software enables users to make cheap international calls, consolidate multiple phone numbers into one voice mail account and get e-mailed transcripts of their voice messages. But on Tuesday, Apple Inc. declined to make the call for its iPhone users. The Cupertino, Calif., electronics giant refused to allow Google to distribute its Google Voice application on iTunes, shutting out iPhone users from easily tapping into the much-anticipated service.

Google Inc. said Tuesday that it would shut down an advertising partnership with more than 800 newspapers, a key part of the Internet giant's effort to expand into offline media, because it didn't make enough money. The Print Ads program, which launched with 50 newspapers in November 2006, allowed advertisers to use Google's online services to bid on space in print much as they do for search-engine ads. The service ends Feb. 28.

In another sign that the economy may be coming back online, Web search giant Google Inc. surprised Wall Street with a 27% jump in third-quarter profit, as Internet advertisers spent more on ads -- and buyers spent more time clicking on them. Computer giant IBM also reported higher-than-expected profit Thursday, adding to hopes that the vitality of the technology sector might be a bellwether for a larger recovery. "We believe the worst of the recession is behind us," said Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt in a call with investors, pointing to strong performance in all of the company's operations.

AT&T Inc. is urging the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Google Inc.'s Google Voice service on grounds it may be violating federal telecommunications laws. The phone giant based its request on news reports that said Google Voice restricts users from placing calls to certain areas with carriers that charge high access fees. Under federal law, other telephone service providers don't have that option. "By blocking these calls, Google is able to reduce its access expenses," AT&T said in a letter it sent Friday to the FCC. The complaint was the latest in a fight that's been intensifying between the companies.

Google Inc. said Sony Corp. would install the company's Chrome Web browser on some of its personal computers. The Internet giant described the arrangement as a test of a channel to "make Chrome accessible to even more people." A Sony spokesman in San Diego didn't immediately return calls seeking comment. Tokyo-based Sony predicted in May that it would sell 6.2 million units of its Vaio computer in the year ending in March 2010, up from 5.8 million in the previous year.

Google Inc. on Thursday unveiled a new Web page that allows users to better see which of their data are being stored by the Internet search giant. Its Dashboard service is Google's attempt to respond to questions about how it uses consumer data and whether users have enough access to and control of information they have on programs such as Gmail, YouTube and Google Docs, the company's word-processing and spreadsheet software. "We think of this as a great step toward giving people transparency and control over their data, and we hope this helps shape the way the industry thinks about these issues," Alma Whitten, a Google engineer who works on privacy and security, said in a statement.

It was a rough day for Gmail. First, Google Inc.'s e-mail service experienced an outage that lasted several hours in the early morning. Then, a phishing scam made its way around Google Talk, the chat protocol embedded within the Gmail Web interface. For the former, Google issued an apology and an explanation via its Gmail blog. For the latter, Google added the apparent perpetrator of the phishing attack, a website called ViddyHo.com, to its blacklist.

Google Inc. made two changes to its search results pages Tuesday that it said would help more effectively direct users to the information they were seeking. The search engine giant said it was launching a technology to better understand what people were looking for online. It also will give longer lines of text, or snippets, after the search title, with relevant words in bold.