Google has revealed significant gains in its battle with Facebook, as it posted a 26pc jump in profits and said 40m users had signed up to its new social network, Google +.
Revenues at the web search giant soared by a third to $9.7bn (£6.2bn) in the three months to 30 September, as net profits grew more than a quarter to $2.7bn.
The figures beat analyst expectations and allayed fears that Google's recent hiring spree would take its toll on profits. The company, which recently announced plans for a new office on London's "Silicon roundabout", took on 2,585 new staff in the three-month period, taking its total headcount to 31,353.
Its results, released on Thursday night, offered a reminder of how Google is using its position as the internet's dominant gateway to build a business that weathers economic turbulence better than most companies.
They also highlighted Google's rapid expansion into new areas outside web search, and the seriousness of its challenge to Facebook as a social networking platform.
Larry Page, chief executive of the web search giant, said: "People are flocking into Google + at an incredible rate and we are just getting started".
The network, which allows users to group their friends in "circles", launched in beta at the end of June and was made fully accessible to the public in late September, by which time it had already attracted more than 25m users. In 2004, it took Facebook 10 months to reach 1 million users.
Investors quickly showed their approval of Google's results as its share price surged 6pc to $592.36 in after hours trading in New York.
Analysts had been bracing for a slight slowdown in Google's growth, assuming the economic turbulence that roiled the stock market during the summer would have some fallout as advertisers grew more cautious and tightened their ad budgets.
Herman Leung, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, said: "A lot of people were expecting spending to be out of control, but they had good control."
Brian Pitz, an analyst at UBS, added: "The real interesting thing here is the expenses that weren't as high as Wall Street was anticipating. R&D was less than we were expecting. This is the fourth quarter in a row the company has accelerated their revenue on top line.''
Google's performance will also bolster faith in Mr Page, whose appointment as chief executive six months ago initially met with a cool reception.