EU launches antitrust probe into Google searches

The European Union's competition watchdog will investigate whether Google Inc. has abused its dominant position in the online search market - the first major probe into the online giant's business practices.

The formal investigation announced Tuesday follows complaints from rival search engines that Google put them at a disadvantage in both its regular and sponsored search results, by listing links to their sites below references to its own services in an attempt to shut them out of the market. (AP)