The European Commission charged Google Inc on Wednesday with cheating competitors by distorting Internet search results to favor its own shopping service, and opened a separate investigation into its Android mobile operating system. When the investigation was opened in November 2010, then Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia set out four concerns. The first, to which Wednesday's statement of objections relates, concerns the way in which Google allegedly positions its Google Shopping service above rivals' services, irrespective of its merits. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, a Danish liberal, said Wednesday's decision to focus on Google's shopping service does not preclude following up with formal charges concerning the three remaining areas of investigation.

More...