Google intros ego-surfing tool

Most of us will have indulged in a little 'ego-surfing' - searching for your own name - at some stage and a new tool from Google now lets you control the results that come up.

In order to make sure you present your best side and up-to-date information, when people search for you Google has introduced a 'profile' tool.

"It's no secret that from time to time many of us have searched on Google for our name or someone else's," said Brian Stoler, software engineer at Google.

"When searching for yourself to see what others would find, results can be varied and aren't always what you want people to see," Stoler continued.

By editing your Google Profile you can make sure the most up-to-date information is available to anyone searching for your name.

Read the transcript of Web User's live chat with Google's Simon Morrison

You can even select an option that lets people contact you without your email address being exposed.

Linking your public profiles from sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace is also possible.

Earlier this week, Google announced changes to Google Image Search as well as adding a timeline feature to Google News.