Google online share shop opens for business

As Google inches nearer to floating on the stock market, the search giant has opened a new website where potential share-buyers can show their interest.

The site can be found at www.ipo.google.com and allows would-be stockholders to register to be able to bid for the soon-to-be-released shares. Unlike traditional IPOs, Google will be selling its shares by Dutch auction - whereby buyers will have to put in a bid for how much they're willing to pay and how many shares they want.

UK citizens won't be able to become Google shareholders, however - the auction is open only to US individuals. Stock can also be traded in Canada.

There will be over 14 million shares available and the search engine expects to make $1.7bn from those shares alone, according to its share prospectus. More stock will be available to current shareholders.

What the company will be spending the windfall on isn't yet clear, although the share prospectus does hint it may be on the acquisition trail.

"We currently have no specific plans for the use of the net proceeds of this offering. We anticipate that we will use the net proceeds received by us from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital… we may use a portion of the proceeds of this offering for acquisitions of complementary businesses, technologies or other assets," the prospectus says.