• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 1, 2005

Google's annual report, filed late Wednesday, shows that the company underwent a major growth spurt last year. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company reported that it doubled the number of full-time employees to 3,021 as of Dec. 31 2004, from 1,628 at the end of 2003.

Google last year paid $56 million in cash and stock to acquire four companies--Zipdash, which specializes in traffic maps; satellite photo provider Keyhole; Picasa, a manufacturer of photo-sharing software; and mapping technology company Where2, which contributed to Google's Maps, a utility launched in February.

The search giant also spent $246.3 million in sales and marketing last year--more than double the $120.3 million spent in 2003, according to the company's annual report, filed Wednesday. While the vast majority of those funds went to personnel or office space--Google increased its sales and marketing force by 74 percent--the search giant also increased the amount spent on advertising and promotions by $17.3 million. Most promotions appear to be focused on attracting potential advertisers, but Google also promoted its toolbar to Internet users. Google doesn't run consumer branding campaigns; rather, it relies on consumer word-of-mouth.