Lawyers acting for the crocked Arsenal and England defender have asked the web searching outfit why, when you run a search for Ashley Cole on its ubiquitous engine, it suggests: "See results for: ashley cole gay".

Cole is fighting a libel action against Brit rags the News of the World and The Sun over stories that appeared in both papers concerning a video supposedly showing footballers getting it on with one another. Although Cole wasn't named in the stories, he claims certain hints and innuendoes suggested he was involved.

Graham Shear, solicitor for Mr Cole, said he was keen to find out, whether Google's decision to, "automatically add the term 'gay' to the search term 'Ashley Cole' was an editorial decision or one made by a computer, based on the volume of searches for 'Ashley Cole' linked to the word 'gay'."

According to the Times , which, like The Sun, is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News International, Shear wants to know "whether the process started since we launched the cases against the News of the World and The Sun, or before."

Google says the alternative search terms would have been made by a computer, though it hasn't yet officially responded to the lawyer's call for more details. µ

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