THE internet passed a new milestone yesterday when the search engine Google announced that it had expanded its index to more than 6 billion items.

The Silicon Valley company now claims to offer the most comprehensive worldwide search index, even though most of its users restrict themselves to “Britney Spears”.

Google, founded in 1998 by two Stanford PhD students, is valued at $25 billion (£13 billion) and has been the subject of takeover speculation by Microsoft. There were 55 billion searches on it last year.

The company said yesterday that its engine had been expanded to cover 6 billion items, including 4.28 billion web pages and 880 million images.

The database also includes 845 million messages left by discussion groups, which Google claims will offer students an “insight into the history and culture of the internet”.

Google has been a hit with internet users because its powerful technology allows the results of a search to be produced instantly and in a relevant list form.

Larry Page, Google’s co-founder, said: “People worldwide can find more information with Google than with any other search engine. This innovation represents a milestone for internet users.”

Google has never disclosed its earnings, but industry estimates put revenues at about $1 billion a year. Advertisers pay when a user clicks on an advert. Bankers believe that Google is planning a $25 billion flotation this year.

Using search engines is now the second-most popular activity on the internet, after e-mail.

The most popular worldwide Google searches last year were for Britney Spears, Harry Potter, Matrix and the pop star Shakira.

The most requested men were Eminem and David Beckham. The Prince of Wales was top in Britain.

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