Search outfit Google is in an Australian court over claims that it engages in deceptive conduct by selling off the top search positions to its commercial partners.

The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) is taking Google to court in Sydney over allegedly deceptive conduct related to sponsored links.

According to the Brisbane Times, the consumer watchdog claims that Google does differentiate search results ranked by relevance from sponsored links which appear at the top of its results page.

It was also involved with a scam where the names of New South Wales car dealerships Kloster Ford and Charlestown Toyota were hyperlinked to a rival advertiser called Trading Post. Trading Post is also been charged.

Trading Post chose the dealership names through AdWords, a Google commercial program that sets up hyperlinks. It paid Google "per click".

The case has been adjourned for now.

More here.