"Patience is a virtue which is rewarding executives who have stuck with the technology sector.

"For three years dot.coms, software companies, computer makers and telecoms operators have struggled to clear up the mess left by the collapse of technology sector shares and profits in 2000.

"Now, it appears that the glimmer of light which appeared last year, as the Nasdaq powered away from six-year lows and companies such as Ericsson returned to profit, heralded a new dawn.

"Ericsson this morning revealed its third successive quarter of profit. Yesterday Microsoft reported a surge in earnings, discounting the impact of legal disputes, while Amazon announced a first-quarter profit of $111 million (£62.4 million) compared with a loss of $10m a year before. Marconi, one of the most infamous victims of the technology downturn, predicted that its sales would rise this year for the first time 2001.

"On Wednesday, eBay, the online auction house, revealed a near doubling in first-quarter profits.

"So, with faith in the sector restored, it is easy to understand why Google has, after months of deliberation, chosen now as the time to announce its flotation. According to the Wall Street Journal, the internet search company will within days announce an IPO which bankers estimate could value the business at $25 billion (£14 billion).

"Yet the question remains of how Google will undertake the flotation. The California-based company has threatened to handle the launch online to avoid Wall Street fees, which can amount to more than 10 per cent of cash raised.

"When dealing with a company with the profile of Google, which processes more than 200 million searches a day and attracts more than 80 million internet surfers a month, such a proposal must be taken seriously.

"Crucially, it has yet to become clear why Google is considering flotation. The company certainly has expansion plans, as the proposed launch of its e-mail service, Gmail, illustrates.

"It is also launching a local promotions service to attract advertisers who cannot afford the current fees and have no need for a national profile, while refining its software to ensure services are better attuned to cultural differences.

"These are hardly the programmes, however, that require the raising of many billions of dollars to fund. Nor is flotation likely to have been suggested merely to allow Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the company's co-founders, to cash in their riches. The duo are famously frugal, with Mr Page driving a Volkswagen Beetle.

"The company's venture capital backers may wish to cash in at least part of their stakes. But a flotation which would apply the strictures of Wall Street on a company noted for its whacky culture, with the company offering staff free massages, ice cream and access to scooters, is hardly likely to have been agreed unless part of a broader strategy.

"This could see Google, after six years of scooping up customers and awards, begin to acquire companies too.

"As to which ones, it is difficult to judge when so little is known of its strategy operations.

"An idea might be gained, of course, through scanning websites worldwide by placing the words 'Google' and 'takeover' into the search engine itself.

"More than 60,000 results come up, a few months' worth of research. It would be quicker to wait a few days for a flotation document to gain an idea of what Google is planning."