The Mountain View search engine has outstripped Microsoft on two fronts, becoming both the most visited Web site and the most valuable global brand.
The events are major milestones for Google, which has grown into a business juggernaut. Torrid growth and outsized profits have quickly propelled the company past many established blue clip giants while generating a host of complaints that it has become too powerful.
"These are really significant events," said Geoffrey Bowker, executive director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society at Santa Clara University. "At the moment, everything that Google is touching turns to gold."
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