The European Union formally charged US Internet giant Google on Wednesday with abusing its search engine dominance and launched a sensitive probe into its omnipresent Android mobile phone operating system.

On the first count, the EU Commission said it had sent a formal "Statement of Objections" to Google, charging it with "systematically favouring its own comparison shopping product in its general search results pages."

"The Commission's preliminary view is that such conduct infringes EU antitrust rules because it stifles competition and harms consumers," a statement said.