Google's 2011 Q1 profits reached $3.23B, a 16% rise over the same period last year and the internet behemoth also reported a 27% YoY increase in revenues.

The discrepancy between revenue and profit growth was attributed to additional hiring, investment in infrastructure and ill fated projects such as the Nexus One, Google's foray into mobile phone manufacturing.

Google owned internet properties provided most of the impetus for the rise in revenues, contributing 69% of the total, whilst income from adverts displayed on partner websites on their advertising network Google Ad Sense accounted for $2.4B, a 19% increase over Q1 2010.

Google's lynchpin, paid search, continued its irresistible growth, recording an 18% YoY increase, mainly as the result of more people clicking on ads rather than an increase in ad rates charged, which rose a modest 1% from the previous quarter.