A s the gateway to the internet for more than 1.1bn people around the world, search companies wield enormous power. The dominance of search engines was demonstrated by a recent study that found Google is the most visited internet destination in 13 of the 16 European nations covered. Research by Hitwise found that in the four weeks to February 10 this year, Google powered a staggering 77 per cent of all internet searches in the UK.

This represents huge commercial power because of the ability to charge a fee to businesses or individuals each time a search engine facilitates "click-through" to their website. In the UK, the latest Internet Advertising Bureau figures show Google commands a 43 per cent share of the £2bn marketers spent on online advertising in 2006, up from 35 per cent in 2005. This represents 11.4 per cent of all UK advertising revenues, up from 7.8 per cent in 2005. In short, this market is not only of growing strategic importance but also one that is dangerously unbalanced.