Omid Kordestani, senior vice-president of worldwide sales and field operations, and one of the founders of Google, epitomises the spirit. Earlier this month, Microsoft admitted it is developing its own search engine, while Yahoo! launched a new service last month after ditching Google, which had previously handled its searches. Exuding charm, the tanned California-educated American insists that Google does not take for granted its status as number one search engine. Projected on to the wall in the reception area is a ticker that lists the search enquiries on Google in real time as users enter them. Let battle commence.Google's central London headquarters, just off Soho Square, are a throwback to the heady days of the dot-com boom Dress codes are definitely out Free smoothies (what else?) are in. They have never enjoyed their childhood."During the present intifada the family had had to leave their house in the middle of the night when Israeli troops came to search the area for weapons.

Amid shooting during Operation Defensive Shield, they had to flee upstairs when a gun turret actually smashed through the window of a downstairs room.Did she not as a mother worry about children dying in suicide attacks? "In our religion it is forbidden to kill innocent people. But they are killing our children; until they stop it is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" She added: "If they had not killed Sheikh Yassin, there might have been a chance for peace But now there is not."This may be an oversimplification. Most notably the assassination did not stop a 14 April Washington summit between Ariel Sharon and President George Bush finally being announced yesterday. The talks, which will be preceded by White House meetings with President Mubarak of Egypt and King Abdullah of Jordan, come at a delicate stage. Mr Sharon is seeking to secure US endorsement for his plan to "disengage" from Gaza and from a limited number - perhaps as few as five - Israeli settlements in the West Bank.Strenuous efforts will be made by officials to pave the way for this ahead of the summit, but the US has been resisting attempts by the Israeli Premier to secure in return a guarantee that the US will allow Israel to annex Gush Etzion, Ariel, and Ma'ale Adumim, the three biggest settlements as part of any final deal. For the time being at least in Israel, preoccupation with the unilateral disengagement plan has all but superseded consideration of the floundering international "roadmap" to peace.

Indeed disengagement is precisely the context in which Israeli politicians and commentators opened a vigorous and quite polarised debate over the wisdom or otherwise of assassinating Sheikh Yassin.The reasons behind the decision - one which militarily probably could have been taken at any time in the last few months - are relatively complex. On one level it was a reaction to the suicide bombing in Ashdod eight days earlier, the first to be carried out by Palestinians from inside Gaza since the present intifada began three and a half years ago. On another, Ariel Sharon may have been trying to convince the hard right of his own Likud party that he is still on their side. On yet another, he looks determined not to allow a disengagement, if and when it happens, to be claimed as a victory by whatever is left of the present top Hamas leadership.

And finally he may just be seriously trying to do all he can to weaken Hamas and even allow a chance for a correspondingly strengthened Palestinian Authority leadership to take over.This last proposition has sharply divided Israeli opinion. Though 60 per cent of Israelis approved the killing, in a Yedioth Ahronot poll last week, 47 per cent believe it will make them more afraid of militant retaliation, compared with only 1 per cent who think it will make them less so.The newspaper advertisement published by over 60 prominent Palestinian intellectuals on Thursday, bitterly condemning the killing but also effectively urging restraint, was itself a counter-reaction to the bloodcurdling response issued by Hamas in the wake of the assassination. Around 90 per cent of internet traffic is channelled through it "To Google" has entered the lexicon of the English language But rivals are plotting to knock it off its perch. That will mean there being a period of five to six months when Mr Arculus is chairing the two companies. He has told Severn Trent that the water price review will have his full attention until the outcome of the process is known.It is possible that Severn Trent will appeal against Ofwat's decision, which would prolong the matter and cause complications for Mr Arculus, although that is thought unlikely at this stage. It is also conceivable that mmO2 will be bid for, which would require Mr Arculus to devote himself fully to its affairs, although that again is deemed unlikely. It has already rejected a merger approach from the Dutch telecoms group KPN and there are regular stock market rumours that it is being lined up as a takeover target..