My Internet Explorer Does Not Like Google Search

Apparently, Internet Explorer on my work computer does not like Google and will not have it as the default search provider.

Of course, that happens only in certain conditions, and only when it comes to taking advantage of localized features in Internet Explorer, but can still be seen as an inconvenience, one must agree.

As you know, Softpedia’s headquarters is located in Romania, which spells localized content in Romanian, if one chooses to set it as the default language on the system.

However, when it comes to Internet Explorer 9 (I have it installed on a 64-bit Windows 7 PC), localized content does not include the option to find it via additional popular search providers beside Bing.

To see what I mean, you’ll have to go to Control Panel > Clock, language and region, and set your default location to Romania. Then, fire up Internet Explorer 9, and go to Manage add-ons > Search Providers.

I got only Bing listed there, so I went to Find more search providers… IE automatically launched the Add-ons website to enable me choose from more of them.

Having my mind set on Google Romania, I selected Romanian as the default language for the web page, only to find out to my dismay that Google was actually missing from the list.

In all fairness, I was able to select a series of local search providers, but the Search tab on that page had no trace of Google on it. Nor of Bing, for that matter, as Microsoft’s engine was listed only in the Newest category. Other worldwide search engines were missing from the list as well.

I like Internet Explorer 9 and I use it as often as I have the chance, especially for work related tasks and, since English is my work language, I have no need to change the default search engine in the browser to Google Romania.

However, there are millions of Romanian users who browse the Internet every day in search for localized content, and I’m sure that they would like to be able to benefit from more options when it comes to the engine they are able to use.

Of course, there is always the possibility to pin Google Romania to the taskbar in Windows 7, but that might not cut it every time.

Anyway, I'd be curious to find out if this holds true for other countries and territories as well, so feel free to share your experiences on the subject especially if you're outside the USA, Canada or the UK.