Google: 12 massive moments

Google spent a whopping $1.65 billion on YouTube, confirming the deal on 10 October 2006. The announcement came just a year and a half after the insanely popular video site was established.

Towards the end of last year, Google started considering charging subscription fees for YouTube, although nothing on this has come to fruition as of yet.

7. Chrome launch

Spreading its wings even further, Google launched its Chrome browser in September 2008. It has improved its market share since release, but remains behind rivals such as Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

In July 2009, Google then announced Chrome OS, an open source, lightweight operating system initially targeted at netbooks, was in development.

8. Nexus One: Another let down?

The Nexus One hit stores in the US in January 2010, but sales figures were not initially that impressive. There were also issues in the UK, where the launch was delayed, and later in the year Google would announce there would be no Nexus Two.

Despite queries over the success of the phone, Schmidt told The Telegraph the company had achieved what it wanted to with the Nexus One.

Of course, Google's Android operating system has seen some pretty solid uptake and is a major player in the mobile OS space.

9. Google threatens China exit

Google was always going to have troubles in China given their differing views on censorship. When the search company claimed to have been hacked by sources from the country, the situation was exacerbated to the point that Google threatened to leave altogether in January 2010.

At the current time, users have the choice of either going to Google.com.hk to carry out a web search or use a small number of services running on the Chinese version. This appears to be a suitable deal for both parties, as Google's ICP license was recently renewed by the Chinese Government.

10. Buzzted

Google introduced its social networking tool Buzz in February 2010. The new tool, which sits within a dedicated tab in Gmail, is designed to allow users to share and discuss links, photos and videos with their Gmail contacts.

Unfortunately for the search firm, a loophole in the system meant these contacts were publicly exposed to unsanctioned Buzz users. Google had to pay out $8.5 million (5.5 million) as part of a privacy settlement.