Stalling the
spread of Google

As expected, the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation on Google's $3.1 billion acquisition of Doubleclick, giving itself until April 2, '08 to explore whether the acquisition would seriously impede competition in Europe.

The announcement was made after a phase one investigation showed the merger would raise competition concerns in the burgeoning online ad industry, reports ClickZ.

The FTC is also reviewing the deal in the US, though approval is considered likely. The two commissions work closely together.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission OK'ed the deal last month.