Google tops global brand league

Google knocked Microsoft into third place for brand value

Google has knocked Microsoft off the top spot in the annual Brandz Top 100 Most Powerful Brands ranking.

Google's brand value of $66.4bn (£33.1bn) was top, ahead of General Electric and Microsoft, which was pushed into third place.

The total value of the Top 100 brands has increased by 10.6% in the past year to $1.6 trillion.

In the UK, mobile giant Vodafone was the most valuable brand, followed by HSBC bank and supermarket Tesco.

Top 10 Brands 1 Google 2 General Electric 3 Microsoft 4 Coca-Cola 5 China Mobile 6 Marlboro 7 Wal-Mart 8 Citi 9 IBM 10 Toyota Source: Millward Brown

The biggest riser was Marks & Spencer, which tripled its brand value to take the number 68 spot globally and fourth place in the UK.

The Brandz Top 100 is compiled by the consultancy Millward Brown, which combines balance sheet values with consumer sentiment.

The report says that the past year has seen companies such as BP and Toyota boost their brand value with the promise of more environmentally friendly policies and products.