Google is still the top search engine

Slashdot It! Google maintained its lead as the No. 1 search engine. About 3 billion U.S. Web searches were performed using Google in October, or 49.6 percent, compared with the company's 50 percent share in September, according to data from research group Nielsen//NetRatings. Yahoo, the No. 2 search provider, facilitated 23.9 percent of searches, compared with 23.4 percent in September.

Microsoft's MSN and Windows Live, Time Warner's AOL, and IAC/InterActive's Ask.com search engines stayed put at third, fourth and fifth in the rankings, respectively.

Ask.com searches increased 25 percent year-over-year, while AOL's grew just 1.9 percent and Microsoft's dropped 8 percent.