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Google and a few other tech companies have gotten in on the fun of April Fools Day. Here's a look at a few of the pranks making the rounds on the internet.

The amount of competitive new launches near-term is making it a little bit tougher for Motorola Mobility, especially for its Xoom tablet.

The question is whether the prank, in time, will turn the heat on its inventors, demanding reincarnation in true form. Like, as they say, a character setting out in search of his creator. Think about Google wizards being tormented in sleep by ghoulish Gmail Motion stillborns!

As privacy concerns plague Google Goggles facial recognition feature, the internet giant asserts that it is still working on the smartphone app.

Witticisms, super pranks, ultimate gags, hoaxes and plain lies are searching for fools this day. People turn the most cynical this day so that they don’t look naive, and turn on their gullibility meter at the highest level of alert. But a lot of us are caught off guard by some comic concoctions that mix contemporary humor with ingenious lies which are sometimes delectable.

Chinese authorities found three companies linked to Google Inc broke tax rules and are investigating possible tax avoidance, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Thursday, raising the risk of fresh pressure on the Internet search giant.

Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, has filed its first ever complaint to antitrust regulators, claiming Google thwarts Internet search competition.

Chinese authorities found three companies linked to Google Inc broke tax rules and are investigating possible tax avoidance, a Chinese state-run newspaper said on Thursday, raising the risk of fresh pressure on the Internet search giant.

A fake app for the Android OS not only steals user's data, it humiliates them in the process.

The company is phasing out the technology in favor of near-field communication, which would offer much of the same functionality of QR codes but with increased efficiency.

Microsoft Corp stepped up its rivalry with Google Inc, claiming in its first-ever complaint to antitrust regulators that Google systematically thwarts Internet search competition.

Google has agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission in regards to its privacy practices.

If Apple is delaying the release of its much-fancied iPhone 5 -- it certainly looks like at this point of time -- there indeed are going to be some strategic reasons behind it. And, if one dismisses grapevine on supply crunch and logistical bottlenecks, then the reasons are purely strategic, given that Apple is fighting hard for its space in the maddening smartphone arena.

With the +1 button on its search engine, besides adding a social tinge, Google continues long-drawn war against Facebook.

Google Inc will begin allowing users to personally endorse search results and Web pages, its latest attempt to stave off rival Facebook Inc while trying to jump onboard a social networking boom.

Google's fiber city of choice is Kansas City, Kansas

The technology would make the company the third major player, behind Google and Apple, said to be entering the mobile payment sphere.

Search giant Google Inc has settled with U.S. regulators investigating privacy problems that cropped up in its botched roll-out of social network Buzz, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

Google Inc will build a high-speed Internet network in Kansas City, Kansas, the first site selected by the company's project to spur development of a new generation of Web applications.

Google Inc will allow people to personally endorse search results and Web pages, an important step in its efforts to add social networking capabilities to its products amid increasing competition from Facebook.

Search giant Google Inc has settled with U.S. regulators investigating privacy problems that cropped up in its botched roll-out of social network Buzz, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday.

Microsoft is mulling the introduction of Near Field Communications (NFC) technology on its Windows Phone 7 operating system towards the end of the year, according to reports.

Google aims to give away thousands of websites to small Canadian businesses to encourage them to establish an online presence, the search engine's Canadian head said on Tuesday.

Amazon's new service won't save the music industry, analysts say.

Amazon.com Inc has beaten rivals Apple Inc and Google Inc by introducing an online music locker service that lets customers play songs they already own on many smartphones and computers.

Father of Java James Gosling has joined Google, much to the dismay of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, even as Google and Oracle slug it out over Java patent infringement lawsuit targeting Android.

Amazon has launched a cloud-based music locker service called Cloud Drive, which gives the online books trader an early mover's advantage over Apple and Google.

Amazon.com Inc has launched an online service that would enable its customers to securely store music in the cloud and play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, wherever they are.

Social media, video and mobile advertising pushed British online ad spending above 4 billion pounds ($6.4 billion) for the first time in 2010, an increase of 12.8 percent, the Internet Advertising Bureau said.