Google growth clouded by survey

A NEW survey has a stark warning for soon-to-be-floated internet search engine industry leader Google.

Although Google is by far the most popular means of finding a way round the web, customers would change allegiance as soon as something better came along.

A survey in the US commissioned by Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services found that 48% of search engine users say they use Google most overall, compared with 20% for Yahoo, 14% for Microsoft's MSN and 7% for AOL.

But 60% of Google users said they would switch search engines if a better service were introduced.

The survey also had bad news for Google's planned free email service, with fewer than 25% of respondents saying they would be very likely to use it. Google is hoping the email service will be one of the products to help diversify its income stream away from advertising revenue associated with its search engine.

The company, which was founded by Stanford graduates Sergey Brin and Larry Page, is also testing a new comparison shopping service called Froogle and is affiliated with an start-up social networking service called Orkut.

But S&P, reflecting on the results of its survey, is sceptical about many of these businesses.

'We believe Google and its shares will also face risks relating to commoditisationof the company's offerings, difficulties related to its introduction of new products and services, and competition from the likes of Yahoo and Microsoft,' said Scott Kessler, S&P's Internet software and services equity analyst.

S&P's preliminary estimate for Google's market value is $33bn (£17.9bn) to $40bn.