Google duo splash out for airliner

The two founders of Google, whose corporate slogan is "do no evil", have made the ultimate acquisition for chief executives. They have bought a corporate jet - but it is a bit bigger than most.

Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both 32, have splashed some of the US$22 billion ($32bn) they made by creating the world's largest internet search engine, on a Boeing 767.

The ostentatious purchase appears to be a departure for the two Stanford University computer science graduates who have mainly shunned the trappings of wealth.

They drive environmentally friendly cars and when asked on a television programme after Google's flotation last summer, Mr Brin said he had spent some of his windfall on a T-shirt.

The plane, which cost up to US$15m ($22m), carried 180 passengers as a transatlantic carrier, but is being refitted to the men's specifications.

They want two "state rooms", with adjoining lavatories and a shower. There will also be a large sitting and dining area and, at the back, up to 16 first-class seats for guests or employees. And don't forget the onboard internet access.

Mr Page has acknowledged that the plane might seem to propel him and his business partner into the world of corporate one-upmanship.

But he told the Wall Street Journal in a rare interview: "Part of the equation for this sort of machinery is to be able to take large numbers of people to places such as Africa. That can only be good."

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen owns an entire fleet of aircraft, though his flagships - two Boeing 757s - are smaller than Messrs Brin and Page's 767.

The two internet gurus recently pleased the charity world by emulating their chief rival, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, in using some of their fortune to set up a philanthropic trust funding projects in Africa and elsewhere.

But the unprecedented growth and global dominance of Google, created seven years ago, has generated suspicion it is more an "evil empire" than an offbeat collegiate company helping the world.

It has had a series of bust-ups with business rivals, including a court battle with Microsoft over allegations Google illegally poached a key executive for its operations in China.

Most recently, the Association of American Publishers, which includes firms such as Penguin, said it was suing Google over its decision to scan millions of books and make them accessible online, claiming breach of copyright.

- INDEPENDENT