MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (January 17, 2008) - In its continuing effort to
use the power of information and technology to help people better
their lives, Google.org today rolled out five core initiatives that
will be the focus of its philanthropic efforts over the next five to
ten years. Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG),
will collaborate with experienced partners working in each of these
fields, investing its resources and tapping the strengths of Google's
employees and global operations to advance its core initiatives.

Today's announcement includes more than $25 million in new grants and
investments to initial partners. The resources come from a commitment
by Google's founders to devote approximately 1 percent of the
company's equity plus 1 percent of annual profits to philanthropy, as
well as employee time.

"In their first Letter from the Founders (2004), Larry Page and Sergey
Brin said that we wanted to 'make Google an institution that makes the
world a better place.' The work of Google.org will help us do that by
applying Google's strengths in organizing information and scaling
technology to these complex issues," said Sheryl Sandberg, VP Global
Online Sales & Operations, and Google.org Board member.

Added Dr. Larry Brilliant, executive director of Google.org, "These
five initiatives are our attempt to address some of the hard problems
we as a world need to face in the coming decade. We have chosen them
both because we think solving them will make a better, fairer, safer
world for our children and grandchildren - and the children and
grandchildren of people all over the world - but also because we feel
that these core initiatives fit well with Google's core strengths,
especially its innovative technologies and its talented engineers and
other Googlers, who are really our most valuable assets."

Google.org joins a community of like minded groups working to make the
planet and population healthier and more equitable. Google.org's five
initiatives and initial partners include:

Predict and Prevent

Google.org supports efforts to empower communities to predict and
prevent events before they become local, regional, or global crises,
by identifying "hot spots" and enabling a rapid response. Rapid
ecological and social changes are increasing the risk of emerging
threats, from infectious diseases to drought and other environmental
disasters. Google.org is initially focused on Southeast Asia and
tropical Africa. In Southeast Asia, a hot spot for SARS and
potentially bird flu, Google.org is working with partners to
strengthen early warning systems and build local capacities to prevent
the next pandemic. Initial grants include:

$5 million to InSTEDD (Innovative Support to Emergencies, Diseases and
Disasters) to improve early detection, preparedness, and response
capabilities for global health threats and humanitarian crises.
InSTEDD will work with the community of relief and response
organizations, governments, academia and top scientists around the
world to address gaps in information flow with software and other
technology-based tools and services. Acting as an innovation
laboratory, InSTEDD aims to support the humanitarian community in
preparing for and responding to global public health emergencies,
working together towards a safer world. For more information, see
http://instedd.org/.

$2.5 million to the Global Health and Security Initiative (GHSI),
established by the Nuclear Threat Initiative to prevent, detect, and
respond to biological threats. Google.org's support will help GHSI to
strengthen national and sub-regional disease surveillance systems
through workforce training and better laboratory capacity in the
Mekong Basin area (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and
Yunnan province, China). For more information, see http://www.ghsi.org/.

More than $600,000 to Clark University, with equal funding from the
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, for Clark Labs to develop a system
to improve monitoring, analysis and prediction of the impacts of
climate variability and change on ecosystems, food and health in
Africa and the Amazon. This system is a prototype platform to deploy
global environmental, health, and development data, information and
analysis tools that the global community can freely access over the
Internet. For more information, see http://www.clarklabs.org/.

Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services

Google.org works with partners to improve the flow of vital
information to improve basic services for the poor in India and East
Africa. In many countries in the developing world, essential public
services are failing, especially for the poorest members of society.
Google.org supports efforts to provide information to empower citizens
and communities, providers, and policy makers to improve the delivery
of essential public services such as education, health, water and
sanitation. Initial grants include:

$2 million to Pratham, a non-governmental organization in India, to
create an independent institute that will conduct the Nationwide
Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) as well as large scale
assessments in the education sector. Our goal is to expand these types
of assessments to other sectors. For more information, see
http://www.pratham.org/.

$765,000 to the Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, a Bangalore-
based analysis group, to create a Budget Information Service for local
governments to facilitate better district- and municipal-level level
planning in India. For more information, see http://www.cbpsindia.org/.

$660,000 to the Center for Policy Research, an action oriented think
tank based in India, to increase the debate and discourse on issues of
urban local governance and urban service delivery. With the rapid
expansion of cities in India, our goal is to provide policy makers the
necessary information to make more informed decisions. For more
information, see http://www.cprindia.org/.

Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Google.org supports efforts to lower transaction costs to invest in
SMEs, create opportunities to access larger financial markets and make
investments in this sector. SMEs are critical for inclusive economic
growth and job creation in the developing world, but lack the capital
and tools necessary to succeed. Many micro-enterprises and most large
businesses have access to capital through microfinance institutions,
banks and capital markets, but SMEs remain extraordinarily
underserved, creating a "missing middle." Google.org wants to help
increase the flow of capital to "the missing middle" by tackling some
of the root causes that prevent these firms from becoming profitable
investment opportunities. Technoserve is an initial partner:

$4.7 million grant to TechnoServe to provide general support to expand
Technoserve's efforts to support enterprises, spur job creation, and
strengthen poverty alleviation programs globally, and to develop and
implement a business plan competition to support entrepreneurs in
Ghana and Tanzania. For more information see, http://www.technoserve.org/.

These three new efforts join two climate change related initiatives
announced earlier this year:

Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (RE<C)

This cross-Google collaboration has set a goal of producing one
gigawatt of renewable energy capacity that is cheaper than coal,
within years not decades. The initiative, known as RE<C, was launched
in November 2007 and will focus initially on advanced solar thermal
power, wind power technologies, enhanced geothermal systems and other
potential breakthrough technologies. For more information on Google's
commitment to a clean energy future, see
http://www.google.com/renewable-energy.
As part of the RE<C initiative, Google.org is supporting strategic
investments, including:

$10 million to eSolar, a Pasadena, CA-based company specializing in
solar thermal power which replaces the fuel in a traditional power
plant with heat produced from solar energy. eSolar's technology has
great potential to produce utility-scale power cheaper than coal.
Google announced its intention to work closely with eSolar in
November, and has now closed the investment deal. For more
information, please visit
http://www.google.com/corporate/green/energy/esolar.pdf.

Accelerate the Commercialization of Plug-In Vehicles (RechargeIT)

RechargeIT is a Google.org initiative that aims to reduce CO2
emissions, cut oil use and stabilize the electrical grid by
accelerating the adoption of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and
vehicle-to-grid technology. Google.org launched a $10 million request
for investment proposals this Fall, and will invest amounts ranging
from $500,000 to $2 million in selected for-profit companies whose
innovative approach, team and technologies will enable widespread
commercialization of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, electric
vehicles and/or vehicle-to-grid solutions.

Unlike conventional philanthropies, Google.org is a hybrid
organization, giving it the flexibility either to make direct grants
or invest in for-profit companies that might yield returns. Google.org
can also lobby public officials in favor of policies supporting its
goals.

Additional Google Giving
Beyond the grants and investments announced today under Google.org's
core initiatives, Google will continue its philanthropic work through
programs to leverage Google products for non-profits, including:
Google Grants(tm), which donates free ads to non-profits; Google Apps(tm),
which provides free, web-based services to non-profits; and
contributions from departments including Google Earth(tm), which offers
mapping to monitor events such as the crisis in Darfur.

About Google.org
Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, uses the power of
information and technology to help people improve their lives. We
develop and invest in tools and partnerships that can help bring
shared knowledge to bear on the world's most pressing challenges in
the areas of climate change, economic development and global health.
For more information, visit http://www.google.org.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people
around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by
Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a
top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted
advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable
results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google
is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the
Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit
http://www.google.com.

Conference Call Information

Google.org's call begins today at 9:00 AM (PT) / 12:00 PM (ET). To
participate, call 877-604-9673 in the United States or 719-325-4905
for calls from outside the United States, and use the confirmation
code 4699562. A replay of the call will be available beginning at 3:00
PM (ET) today through midnight Thursday, January 24th, 2008 by calling
888-203-1112 in the United States or 719-457-0820 for calls from
outside the United States. The required confirmation code for the
replay is 4699562.

Media Contact:
Jacquelline Fuller
Google
press@...
+1.650.930.3555