Maybe I'm just being cynical, but what mantra has Google not reversed itself on? I remember Larry and Sergey saying that any advertising is evil. Gone are the two gusy with nothing but best intentions... 2006 is the year we'll see the real money hungry Google beast emerge, just wait and see.

• Posted by: Bud
• January 3, 2006 2:36 PM

John.

'google.by' is NOT the official 'Google Belarus' webpage.

Facts:
1) It's not within Google official list:
http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en

2) It's not hosted by Google Inc.:
http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=google.by

• Posted by: Dirson
• January 3, 2006 3:41 PM

I'll betcha $10 that google doesn't own or run that domain. There's no WHOIS info that I can find for .by domains, so its impossible to say:

http://www.iana.org/root-whois/by.htm

...but given that the homepage personalization features, advertising, options, and so on are inconistent with the behaviour on every other international google site, I'd willing to be that some enterprising belorussian has created this site to make some ad dollars.

Also: try running a search. The results come from Google.com, with a language parameter of ru. Again, this is inconsitent with the other google sites that retain their international TLD's across all pages.

Everyone likes to see the champ drop the ball occaisonally, I guess....

• Posted by: Rod Edwards
• January 3, 2006 3:42 PM

Google doesn't own google.by, see http://www.it-belarus.net/news/read/2004/08/14/

• Posted by: Maxime
• January 3, 2006 3:57 PM

Let's face it. You are either a repeat offender(figuratively) and click on Adwords or Adsense regularly or you don't at all: zero.

Targeting is disengenuous and lacks the trust or convenience inherent in its intended value.

So it almost makes no difference to me. I search from the Google toolbar: the homepage is irrelevant.

It's visual interruption ads that are the most hideous experiental aspect of the user experience. Thanks to Firefox AdBlock extension: I keep rollin' ad free. I remooved AdBlock for a week and I couldn't believe the difference: truly another world.

Cheers.

• Posted by: Marina Architect
• January 3, 2006 3:58 PM

Yep, that domain ain't Google. It's hosted by pcihighway.com.

• Posted by: Brian Mingus
• January 3, 2006 5:07 PM

John, a language parameter of ru would be correct because the language of Belarus is Russian.

• Posted by: Michael Estes
• January 3, 2006 5:20 PM

I hope Michael Estes is not a frequent reader

• Posted by: Tahir
• January 3, 2006 5:25 PM

Belarusian language:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_language

Google Belarus:
http://www.google.com/intl/be/

• Posted by: Michel
• January 3, 2006 5:29 PM

Good you followed up on this "fake" story - it had me fooled and I apologize to Google for believing it at first. The AOL deal really shook my faith in them.

Also note the hugely reported incident about visits from Homeland Security to a student who signed out A Mao bio. It was all a hoax.

Oh my GOD! The internet is no longer a bastion of unvarnished truth!?

• Posted by: Joe Hunkins
• January 3, 2006 7:26 PM

c'mon , it must be their own mini. So stop cussing.

• Posted by: Tarry Singh
• January 4, 2006 1:07 AM

vondrashek is google, however, google is not vondrashek.signed:THOMAS STEWART

• Posted by: PHYSICIAN THOMAS STEWART VON DRASHEK M.D.
• January 4, 2006 8:13 AM

Hi,

Very useful information man.

Thanks
SEM Times

• Posted by: SEM Times
• January 4, 2006 8:22 AM

Anyway, it could be an interesting way for Google to begin in CIS. They have very light weight in Russia, Belaruss and Ukraina. In Russia, yandex is the first and google concretly doesn't exist. Ia asked for google adsense for a very big client and they don't have offer.. the russia site begun.ru is better for ads. May be have fake google will help them to have presence.. May be, it's new google: franchising !!

• Posted by: Pierre
• January 4, 2006 8:59 AM

google agreed to put visual adds on their home page as part of their deal to acquire part of AOL. talk aboutt the end of an era. I may start using dogpile, just to recycle google without the ads when they start doing that. it will truly signify the death of their long untarnished frontpage. hey, whatever, they get rich, right.... it IS a biz after all.

• Posted by: c.elliot.friday
• January 4, 2006 9:48 AM

Sadly, this is what Google has to pay for being so popular. I really wonder how Google missed this domain and did not register it earlier!

• Posted by: Fahad Al Mahmood
• January 4, 2006 12:58 PM

Do you think that Google and other big us companies consider or KNOW that there are differents countries in ex soviet union ?? ;-)
Russian federation is about 100 different "republics"..
What about republic of komi ot tchukotka or a simplier example: in ST petersburg district, u can have .spb.ru . Have a look ;-)) http://google.spb.ru

• Posted by: Pierre
• January 4, 2006 1:27 PM

Google always forwards you to the www. subdomain and this one does nto

• Posted by: dragonninja89
• January 4, 2006 1:50 PM

Google is destined to follow in the foot steps of having crap on their front pages. Eventually they will ad more, little by little.

• Posted by: Mark Novak
• January 4, 2006 3:31 PM

I found something like the google.by : it is http://www.closebrothers.com
A search page, using Google Technology. And they use adsense too :-)
so, everybody can make its own Google Search engine on the web :-)

• Posted by: Tubbydev
• January 20, 2006 5:15 AM

i am interested how the story ended. A half year later the site is still on.

• Posted by: Billiger
• June 28, 2006 1:33 AM