Google Achieves Search Milestone With Immediate Access To More Than 6 Billion Items

Google Connects Searchers to World’s Most Comprehensive Index; Increases Web Page and Image Collections

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. February 17, 2004 – Google Inc.today announced it expanded the breadth of its web index to more than 6 billion items. This innovation represents a milestone for Internet users, enabling quick and easy access to the world’s largest collection of online information.

"People worldwide can find more information with Google than with any other search engine," said Larry Page, Google co-founder and president of Products.

Google’s collection of 6 billion items comprises 4.28 billion web pages, 880 million images, 845 million Usenet messages, and a growing collection of book-related information pages. Web surfers worldwide can now search across Google’s collection of items using the following services:

  • Google Web Search: The company’s flagship search service now offers 4.28 billion web pages. Google’s powerful and scalable technology searches this information and delivers a list of relevant results in an instant. Google Web Search also enables users to search for numerous non-HTML files, including PDF, Microsoft Office, and Corel documents.
  • Google Image Search: Comprising more than 880 million images, Google Image Search enables users to find electronic images relevant to a wide variety of topics. Advanced features include search by image size, format (JPEG and/or GIF), coloration, and the ability to restrict searches to specific sites or domains.
  • Google Groups: This 20-year archive of Usenet conversations is the largest of its kind and serves as a powerful reference tool, while offering insight into the history and culture of the Internet. Google Groups offers more than 845 million postings in more than 35,000 topical categories.
  • Google Print: A test service that enables Google users to immediately access a range of book related information, such as first chapters, reviews, and bibliographic information. These pages also offer users links to directly purchase titles.

"Google Image Search has been significantly updated," said Sergey Brin, Google co-founder and president of Technology. "We’ve doubled the index to more than 880 million images, enhanced search quality, and improved the user interface."

Today’s news follows the announcement last week that Google received eight awards in the 4th Annual Search Engine Watch Awards, which recognize outstanding achievements in web searching. Google was recognized as the "Outstanding Search Service," for outstanding performance in helping internet users locate information from across the Web. Google has received this distinction every year since the awards were initiated in 2000. Google AdWords was also given top honors for value, targeting, tools and overall advertiser satisfaction.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program, which is the largest and fastest growing in the industry, provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

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