Google agreed to make concessions on how it displays competitors’ links on its website in a deal with the EU regulator that ended a three-year antitrust probe and avoided a fine.

The agreement means the world’s dominant search engine has avoided a process that could have led to a fine of up to $5 billion, or 10 per cent of its 2012 revenue. It must stick to the deal for the next five years.

However, Google may still face a second EU investigation, this time into its Android operating system for smartphones, with potentially bigger risks for the company.

Google has been the subject of a European Commission investigation into its internet search practices since November 2010, when more than a dozen complainants, including Microsoft, accused the company of promoting its own services at their expense. Its first two attempts to resolve the case failed.

Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said he would accept Google’s latest concessions without consulting the complainants, prompting a furious response from critics. Google said it hoped to draw a line under the matter soon.

“We will be making significant changes to the way Google operates in Europe,” said General Counsel Kent Walker. “We have been working with the European Commission to address issues they raised and look forward to resolving this matter.”

Google’s success in escaping financial sanctions mirrors a similar outcome in the US last year, where the company received only a mild reprimand from the Federal Trade Commission. Its ability to resolve competition issues in two major regions without a fine stands in sharp contrast to rival Microsoft, whose prickly relations with EU regulators landed it total fines of more than €2.2 billion over the past decade.

Under the settlement, Google, which has a 75 per cent share of the European search market according to consultancy ComScore, will let three rivals display their logos and web links in a prominent box, and content providers will be able to decide what material Google can use for its own services.