May 20, 2004

This may be the "quiet period" before Google Inc.'s initial public offering of stock, but the company is bucking tradition by making plenty of noise.

Since filing papers in late April saying it wants to sell $2.7 billion of stock to the public, the California-based search engine giant has not been shy about rolling out new products or articulating its views on software.

It has released a new advertising product that combines images and photos with text, unveiled new online diary software for computer users, and put an official Google company blog, or diary, on the Internet.

And this week, Google took a stand against deceptive software, issuing a challenge to the industry to develop software that does not secretly snoop on computers users or trick them into buying products or viewing pop-up ads online. The company outlined a code of conduct it said would govern its practices.

"We're alarmed by what we believe is a growing disregard for your rights as computer users," the company said in a statement posted on its Web site. "We feel a responsibility to be proactive about these issues."

All of this runs counter to the conservative approach private companies often follow, citing the advice of counsel: Don't grant interviews or talk publicly about your business during the quiet period, which encompasses the months after filing for an initial public offering, but before the Securities and Exchange Commission grants final permission to sell shares to investors.

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