Google has been given two weeks to respond to European Union charges of abusing its market power in EU countries and avoid a hefty billion-euro fine. The European Commission has extended the deadline for replying to the charges to Aug. 31 from July 17, Google said on Thursday. This is the second extension for the company, which had originally been told to respond to the Commission's charge sheet, or statement of objections, by July 7.

European antitrust authorities in April accused Google of distorting web search results to favor its shopping service. But Googoel has been under investigation for five years now and has failed to
settle with the European Commission.

The search giant could face a fine up to 10 percent of Google's global turnover.