Internet search engine Google has filed its long-awaited public share offering proposing to raise about $2.7 billion.

The initial public offering, seen as one of the hottest since the dot-com boom, will be led by Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse First Boston, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The pricing of the shares will be determined by auction, Google said.

The IPO brings to light key financial data of the Mountain View, California company, which has become the world's most important seach engine since it was launched six years ago.

The documents filed with the SEC said Google has been profitable since 2001 and in 2003 earned a net profit of $105.6 million on revenues of $961.9 million.

The company said it faces "significant competition" from Yahoo and Microsoft, its main rivals.

Google plans to end its relationship with Yahoo in July, but the company said it would have little financial impact. Yahoo accounts for less than three per cent of Google revenues.

"Google is not a conventional company. We do not intend to become one. Throughout Google's evolution as a privately held company, we have managed Google differently," said a letter included in the SEC filing from company co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.