Google bowls Yahoo a googly

Google has risen from nowhere three years ago to become the dominant internet search site for UK surfers, according to research released yesterday.

The latest Internet User Profile Survey from NOP World said that when Google was first launched in 2000, Yahoo was the UK's most popular search engine.

At the time Google had less than one per cent of UK users, against Yahoo's claimed 42 per cent. NOP World said that Google is now used by 38 per cent of surfers in Britain.

"Yahoo was simple to use, the categories were clearly labelled, and users felt comfortable with the design and confident that results were relevant," stated the NOP World report.

"Few would have predicted that Yahoo would be beaten by a strange new site named Google."

"In just 36 months, 38 per cent of surfers in Britain prefer Google. It is a phenomenal rise, especially given that it has been achieved almost totally on the back of 'word of mouth' viral campaigning."

But despite this meteoric rise, the research suggested that there is little to choose between the two in terms of user experience.

Some 34 per cent of users of both search engines said that they always found what they were searching for.

Carl Geraghty, research manager at NOP World Business, said: "By fully embracing the portal mentality, Yahoo has lost its stranglehold on the search market, leaving Google to establish itself as the place to search online."