GoogleThe world's most popular internet search engine achieved net profits of $204.1m in the three months to 31 December.

Way ahead of market expectations, this compares to the $27.3m profits the company made a year earlier.

Total fourth quarter turnover jumped to $1.03bn from $512.2m, again beating analysts' estimates.

The company released the results after the stock market closed. Google's shares fell $3.72 to close at $191.90 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then climbed by $10.14, or 5.3 percent, in extended trading. The shares have reached a high of $205.30 since Google's IPO, which was priced at $85.