The European Commission is launching a formal investigation into whether Google has abused its dominant market position in online searches.

The EU’s competition watchdog said the probe follows complaints from other online search providers that Google put them at a disadvantage in both its paid and unpaid search results.

Google’s competitors also allege that Google lists its own services above those of its rivals.

The commission’s investigation does not imply any wrongdoing by Google. Google has maintained that it has not broken any competition rules.

If the Commission finds that Google has abused its market position, the company could be fined up to 10 percent of its revenue – that would put it on the line for a £1.5 billion fine based on 2009 earnings figures.

The Commission has shown resolve in confronting US corporations and only last year concluded a long-running antitrust case involving Microsoft that lead to over £640 million in fines.

Three companies – UK based price comparison site Foundem, French legal search engine ejustice.fr and Microsoft-owned shopping site Ciao - lodged complaints against Google with the commission in February.