Google hits the business world: "That many of Google's services are free—including the search engine, Google Maps and Gmail—may have some Internet users wondering how the Mountain View, Calif.-based company is as profitable as it is. At market closing time on yesterday, the company's stocks were $255 a share, nearly three times as much as they were when the company went public last August. The answer is simple: advertising."

"For now, Google executives said that they would focus on continuing on in their core mission, 'organizing all of the world's information and making it universally accessible,' according to Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt.

"And there are many miles to go. Schmidt joked that the task would take 300 years. 'And we've got 294 years to go.'"