Can you live without Google?

Eight out of ten people prefer Google but the power of the website is under threat from rival search engines and firms that manipulate its results

In the space of a single decade, internet search has changed the way we look at the world beyond recognition. Google has become our binoculars and our window on to the net.

So what are the alternatives to Google? Recently the company has been joined by a range of different search engines, which claim to outdo Google either on accuracy and speed or both.

Then there is Microsoft’s latest attempt to make up ground on Google in the rapidly expanding search business. Bing, which was launched in the US last week and is now being reworked for the UK, reportedly stands for “Bing is not Google” and takes its onomatopoeic name from the sound of something being found very quickly.