A clear opportunity

As the internet advertising market grows in Europe, along with demand for local searches, European search engines are finding that they can gain ground on search giant Google.

Europe's patchwork of languages and cultures, viewed by many as an obstacle to creating internet businesses with growth opportunities, could actually be an advantage for outsiders seeking to break into the search market, the International Herald-Tribune writes. As the major engines such as Yahoo and Google return similar search results, the opportunity for specialized and relevant results in Europe, especially on a local level, is giving hope to a host of startups.

"There is room for extremely motivated companies to get a leadership position in their own market against Google," said John Battelle, author of The Search, a book about Google and the search industry. "Revenues from a single country may amount to less than a rounding error on Google's profits, but a strong search presence can be strategically important for a media group or other sort of company."

Still, even Yahoo admits that a new competitor would have to offer something unique. "Better to bang your head against a wall as compete with Google on algorithmic search," Dominique Vidal, managing director in London for Yahoo Europe, says. "Any new entrant must offer something significantly different."