Virgin Net Selects Google to Provide Search Services on www.virgin.net, the UK’s Leading Online Entertainment Guide

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., November 29, 1999 – Google Inc., a developer of sophisticated next-generation search services, today announced that it has been selected by Virgin Net, the leading online entertainment and leisure guide in the United Kingdom, to provide search services on www.virgin.net. The partnership with Virgin Net expands Google’s global presence to the United Kingdom for the first time.

Google’s search services enable visitors to www.virgin.net to search the entire web using Google WebSearch, a cost-effective way to provide the highest quality web-wide search capabilities directly from any website. Google WebSearch, a hosted version of Google’s widely acclaimed search engine technology, gives any website a sophisticated solution for searching the web and opportunities for increased page views and revenue.

Google is also providing custom search services to www.virgin.net to enable visitors to search for websites specific to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Virgin Net and Google created a custom index containing more than 5 million UK-specific web pages, giving UK Internet users a fast and effective source for answering queries related to the United Kingdom.

"We are delighted to be Google’s first UK partner, and we are extremely confident the new search service will results in a smarter search for all of our users," said Alex Dale, publisher of Virgin Net. "The search experience on www.virgin.net will reduce search frustration and the time spent looking for relevant results. Working together, Virgin Net and Google are enhancing the overall web experience through content, applications, and superior search services. This partnership is an ideal fit."

"Google is delighted to be the provider of choice for search services on www.virgin.net," said Sergey Brin, Google president and co-founder. "As a premier provider of entertainment and leisure content, Virgin Net, has created a high-quality destination for users in the United Kingdom. Likewise, our high-quality search technology is designed to provide unprecedented levels of relevancy and speed in returning results. Google’s search services will help visitors to www.virgin.net find useful information quickly, whether they are searching over the entire web or are looking for specific information in the UK or Ireland."

Google’s Award-Winning Search Services In addition to Google’s WebSearch and custom search services, the company also offers services to enable visitors to search for information contained on a website. The Google SiteSearch service, which is hosted and supported by Google, enables customers to feature high-quality, site-specific search capabilities on their websites to help visitors quickly and easily locate information.

Google’s powerful SiteSearch capabilities are designed to improve site navigation and usability, as well as increase site stickiness. With Google SiteSearch, visitors looking for specific product, service, or company information easily find the information they are looking for, helping to reduce customer service calls and enhance customer communications. For e-commerce sites, Google SiteSearch improves sales opportunities by getting customers to product and service information quickly.

Google’s fast-growing search destination site at www.google.com currently handles more than 5 million search queries per day. PC Magazine recently honored Google’s advanced approach to search by awarding the company with its Technical Excellence Award in the web applications category.

About Google Inc.

Google was founded in 1998 by Stanford University Ph.D. candidates Larry Page and Sergey Brin to create a new generation of powerful, scalable search engine products to improve the user experience of searching the web. Based on four years of advanced research in computer science, Google is dedicated to providing the best user search experience by delivering a powerful, yet simple-to-use format for finding the most relevant answers to search queries.

Google currently offers search solutions through its own destination site at www.google.com. The company also offers co-branded web search and site search solutions for information content providers. Google, based in Mountain View, Calif., is privately held. Its funding partners include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Partners. More information about Google can be found on the company’s website at www.google.com.

Google is a play on the word googol, which was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew of American mathematician Edward Kasner, to represents the figure 1 followed by 100 zeroes. Google’s use of the term reflects the immense amount of information available on the web.

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Google is a trademark of Google, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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