Google's browser toolbar for Internet Explorer is raising eyebrows over a feature that inserts new hyperlinks in web pages, giving the internet search provider a powerful tool to redirect traffic to destinations of its choice.

Web users install the toolbar in Internet Explorer and along with that come the AutoLink feature, which adds links to the page you're viewing if it recognizes certain types of information on the page.

Clicking the Toolbar's AutoLink button will automatically link you to a map. AutoLink also recognizes package shipping numbers, car VIN numbers, and book ISBN numbers. Book publishers' ISBN numbers trigger links to Amazon.com, favoring the online seller over competing services.

Google denied that the AutoLink feature is an attempt to control which destinations web surfers visit. Company representatives said users can chose between several map services, including Yahoo! and MapQuest, and choices for book retailers will be added shortly.

Nevertheless, some critics charge that AutoLink takes the liberty of modifying Web pages to direct people the way Google sees fit.

The technology digs up a legal debate over who owns the desktop. Should the consumer have the right to install software that can manipulate the appearance or delivery of web pages? Or does the web publisher have the ultimate say and control over how its content is displayed?

Google's director of Web products, Marissa Mayer, said her team had a healthy debate about how the feature would work before it was implemented, but she said that AutoLink was designed to ensure people remain in control.


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