Google must do more to meet competitor complaints of being 'shunted' says EU

Commissioner Joaquín Almunia told the European Parliament, "This market test should have been concluded yesterday, but at the request of some participants we have decided to prolong [by] one month the market test, so at the end of June we will receive the answers.

"After we will analyse the responses…we will ask Google probably, I can't anticipate this formally but almost 100%, we will ask Google to improve the proposals."

Last month, Google put forward plans to the EU to alter how its search results are displayed, after competitors said it was treating them unfairly. The word used by the Wall Street Journal was "tweak."

"We believe our proposal to the European Commission addresses the four concerns that were raised," a spokesman for Google said. "We continue to work with the commission to settle this case."

Rivals such as TripAdvisor and Expedia had complained they were artificially shunted down in search results.

One, complainer, Foundem,said Google's proposed "tweaks" would make the problem worse and "kill any hope of re-establishing the level playing field on which competition, innovation, and consumer choice depends."

FairSearch.org, a coalition of Google rivals whose members include Microsoft and Nokia Corp, also complained.

Another problems for Google: A separate complaint that Google uses its cellphone operating system Android to monopolise the mobile marketplace.

"We have received a formal complaint regarding some aspects of the Android ecosystem," Almunia said at the hearing before the European Parliament. "We haven't decided whether or not we will open a formal investigation."