Vodafone boss fears evil Google

THE BOSS of Vodafone apparently wakes up in the middle of the night terrified that Google is waiting to suck the universe into a dark void of doom with its many tentacles of horror.

Vittorio Colao has warned mobile phone executives about Google's growing power in the online advertising and search market, which he claims could damage consumer choice.

Donning sackcloth and covering his head in ashes, Colao warned the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that a 70 per cent concentration of power in just a few hands, "from a public policy perspective is something that should be looked at".

Although he didn't ask for direct regulatory intervention, Colao warned that there is a risk such concentration of power will hamper choice and something needs to be done "before it's too late" and our souls are eaten by the dark and terrible Google monster.

Colao also called for greater openness in the booming market for mobile phone applications, saying that people should be able to freely transfer their apps between devices, regardless of the operating system.

"If today I buy a book in London I can freely bring it to another country and do anything I want with it," he said. Well other than hit someone upside the head with it. You could also get those nice people at Google to scan it for you. µ