Google has just announced that it has become the default location provider service in Firefox , which means beginning in the latest Firefox Beta (available here) users will be able to update their location from their web browser without having to install an extra plugins or programs through Google. This is big.

Google (Google Adsense) has announced it officially that now they’ll be sending Adsense checks to Indian publishers via Blue Dart courier service @ no extra cost. AdSense publishers in India will receive standard delivery checks mailed via the local courier service Blue Dart for no additional charge. Checks mailed by Blue Dart should arrive within 10-30 days of the check date.

Even Google can't escape the recession. With its first-quarter results on Apr. 16, the leader in Web search revealed its first quarter-on-quarter decline in sales, reflecting cutbacks in online ad spending. Thanks to cost cutting, Google (GOOG) handily beat profit expectations, but it offered no assurance that overall business conditions would turn around anytime soon.

Mobile phone maker Samsung has confirmed that it intends to launch at least three phones this year that are built with Google's Linux-based Android operating system, including two that are destined for US mobile carriers.

For 24 hours,Google's new Street View brought a vision of British cities to the web that included such memorable sights as a man throwing up between his knees outside a London bar and youths with traffic cones on their heads in Edinburgh.