Google Announces Internet Availability of Proxy Materials for its 2009 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

Mountain View, Calif. – March 24, 2009 – Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) today announced the Internet availability of proxy materials for its 2009 Annual Meeting of stockholders under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Notice and Access rule. Google’s proxy materials can be found on its investor relations website at investor.google.com/proxy.html.

Pursuant to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Notice and Access rule, companies may satisfy their proxy materials delivery requirements by delivering a "Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials" to stockholders, providing Internet access to the proxy materials, and providing a printed set of proxy materials by mail to any stockholder who requests them. Google has elected to take full advantage of these rules in order to minimize impact on the environment and maximize cost savings relating to the printing of the proxy materials.

Google’s 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and proxy statement for its 2009 Annual Meeting of stockholders have been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and may be viewed on Google’s website at investor.google.com/proxy.html. Google’s stockholders may obtain hard copies of these proxy materials free of charge by following the instructions provided on its website or in the "Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials".

Google’s 2009 Annual Meeting of stockholders will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 2:00 p.m., local time, at Google’s corporate headquarters at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California 94043. For your convenience, we are pleased to offer a live webcast of the Annual Meeting and Google Moderator to allow you to propose questions for the question-and-answer portion of the Annual Meeting at investor.google.com/questions.

About Google Inc.

Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google’s targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Contacts:

Maria Shim
Investor Relations
650.253.7663
marias@google.com

###

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

Read more »

Mars, Then and Now

Announcement
March 13, 2009

Antique maps, latest streaming satellite images now viewable with Mars in Google Earth

Today we are announcing an update to Mars in Google Earth, our 3D mapping tool for the Red Planet. Originally released with Google Earth 5.0, Mars in Google Earth now contains even more features that give users a sense of how our knowledge of Mars, and our study of astronomy, has evolved over time. After selecting ‘Mars’ from the toolbar in Google Earth, users fly to a 3D view of the Red Planet, complete with informational layers, imagery, and terrain. The tools for navigation and exploration on Mars are identical to those on Earth – zoom in and out, change the camera view, or spin the entire planet with a click of the mouse.

There are three new features in this updated version of Mars in Google Earth. First, users can travel back in time to see the Red Planet through the eyes of the pioneers of Mars science in the ‘Historical Maps’ layer by exploring antique maps by astronomers Giovanni Schiaparelli, Percival Lowell, and others. Then, they can fast-forward to the present day with the new ‘Live from Mars’ layer, featuring a continuous stream of the latest imagery from today’s Mars spacecraft. ‘Live from Mars’ includes imagery from NASA’s THEMIS camera on board the Mars Odyssey spacecraft, and lets users fly along with Odyssey as well as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to see what they have been observing lately and where they are headed next. Users can discover these and other exciting features — and learn all about the history of Mars science and exploration — with two new guided tours of Mars narrated by Ira Flatow of Public Radio’s Science Friday and Bill Nye the Science Guy.

Mars in Google Earth also contains several updates to the many popular features that were available at the original launch. We’ve included updated imagery from NASA and ESA, and improved the search function to make it easier to explore well-known sites on Mars. Just as they could in the original version of Mars in Google Earth, users can read geo-located articles from Hartmann’s A Traveler’s Guide to Mars about the solar system’s largest canyon, Valles Marineris, its tallest volcano, Olympus Mons, the infamous ‘Face on Mars’, and many other famous Martian locations. They can also follow the paths of Mars rovers and view hi-resolution panoramic photos of the Mars surface.

Discover Mars in Google Earth by downloading Google Earth 5.0 at earth.google.comor visiting earth.google.com/mars/.
Broadcast quality b-roll is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/google.

For more information, have a look at our blog post.

Read more »

Google Analytics Launches Individual Qualification Program

Announcement
March 3, 2009

Online Course and Test Promote Increased Understanding of Web Analytics

Google announced today the launch of a new skills qualification program, Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ), which allows individuals to demonstrate proficiency in Google Analytics. Google provides a free online course that covers web analytics techniques and Google Analytics implementation, administration, and analysis tools. Agencies and other organizations can have staff take the course as part of professional development.

While Google Analytics is easy to use for beginners, it’s most powerful in the hands of knowledgeable users. Qualified users will be effective at leveraging Google Analytics within their organizations and at helping others to do the same. The Google Analytics IQ program is tailored for agencies who want to retain and develop employees who are knowledgeable about Web analytics, and for individuals who seek ways to improve their job prospects or further their own personal development. Individuals do not have to be associated with an agency or organization to take the online course or test.

“Google is an important partner to both GroupM and its clients,” said Rob Norman, Director of Interactive at WPP agency GroupM Worldwide. “Google Analytics is an important resource in helping us to understand the opportunity that Google presents, and our participation demonstrates our continued commitment to gaining insight in all our key channels.”

There is also recognition among industry analysts of the need for more individual analytics certification. For example, in a September 8, 2008 report from Forrester Research titled, Sourcing Analytics Help, successful businesses “View Web analytics as a greenfield opportunity to propel their organizations forward. Although external consultants can feed new ideas and facilitate growth, ongoing improvement is only possible if internal staff members lead the charge and champion efforts from within.”

The Google Analytics IQ online course and a link to the Google Analytics IQ test can be found at ConversionUniversity.com.

For more information or to get started with Google Analytics, follow the sign-up instructions at:
www.google.com/support/conversionuniversity/

Read more »