Google Inc

Three powerful technology companies have banded together to oppose Google Inc.'s proposed settlement with the Authors Guild and the Assn. of American Publishers over the Internet search giant's book scanning project. Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. have signed on to a coalition being assembled by the Internet Archive and Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley antitrust lawyer, said Peter Brantley, director of the Internet Archive, a San Francisco nonprofit that is trying to build a free digital library of Internet content.

Nearly everyone on Google Inc.'s sprawling campus here knows Thunder Parley, at least by reputation. But it's not his unusual name, outgoing personality or skills as a software engineer that make him stand out. He is the most famous foodie at a company that takes gastronomy nearly as seriously as Web-search algorithms. Parley was raised in a small New England town on Life cereal and SpaghettiOs. He used to think Taco Bell was authentic Mexican fare, and he never ate salmon except out of a can.

European regulators are likely to approve Google Inc.'s $3.1-billion takeover of ad firm DoubleClick Inc., despite rivals' worries that the deal could squeeze them and make Web advertising more expensive. The European Commission, which is in charge of preserving competition in the 27-country European Union, is about to decide whether it will express serious doubts about the deal, which would combine Mountain View, Calif.

Whether a Microsoft Corp.-Yahoo Inc. combination would put a real obstacle in Google Inc.'s path or just a pothole would depend on whether the merged company got the kind of dynamic leadership that neither side has exhibited in recent years, analysts said Friday. The two companies have complementary strengths that ought to make them a tougher competitor as a team, such people said.

After sparring for two years over antitrust issues, Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. are preparing for the main event: a lobbying showdown over the fate of Yahoo Inc. Google, which has bulked up its presence in the nation's capital, has started raising concerns about the antitrust implications of Microsoft's proposed $44.6-billion takeover of Yahoo. Analysts said it could ask regulators to stop the deal.

Yahoo Inc.'s negotiations with Google Inc. have intensified as Yahoo Chief Executive Jerry Yang races to find alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6-billion takeover offer, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Yang told Yahoo employees in an e-mail that the board of directors was evaluating "a wide range of potential strategic alternatives" and had "made no decisions" about the Microsoft bid, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Web search company Google Inc. is collaborating with Cleveland Clinic, one of the premier U.S. health institutions, to pilot an exchange of data that puts patients in charge of their own medical records. The healthcare industry has been trying to usher in a paperless era for more than a decade, holding out the promise that electronic medical records would bring significant cost savings. Currently, only a tiny minority of hospitals and primary care physicians use electronic medical records.

Investors searching for another reason to worry about the U.S. economy found it in Google. Shares of Google Inc. on Tuesday slumped nearly 5% to their lowest point in almost a year on fears that even the mighty Internet giant is susceptible to the economic slowdown. The combination of rising prices, slumping consumer confidence and slashed business spending have hurt much of corporate America. Yet Google for years remained largely immune to the economic crosscurrents.

Google Inc., already the world's most-popular spot for finding websites, is aiming to become the go-to place for creating websites too. The company is taking its first step toward that goal today with the debut of a free service designed for high-tech neophytes looking for a simple way to share information with other people working in the same company or attending the same class in school.

Remember when Wall Street was gaga over Google? Despite its quirky approach to business, Google Inc. became a favorite among investors as the company best positioned to cash in on the digital media revolution. The Internet search giant's shares first hit the market at $85 in August 2004 and had risen nearly ninefold by late last year, turning Google into one of America's most valuable companies. But since reaching a record $741.79 in November, Google's stock price has plunged 40%.