Australian Internet users wanting to browse local new headlines on Google were presented with a "502 Server Error" message and asked to retry after 30 seconds.
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A Google spokesperson told ZDNet Australia that the news.google.com.au news site had "experienced an outage" during the period but the problem did not affect international users from accessing the Australian site.
"We experienced an outage that lasted a short time. These things to happen but I am happy to say it is back up and working," the spokesperson said.
The outage immediately set alarm bells ringing because in July Google and a number of rival search engines were crippled following an outbreak of the MyDoom worm.
Antivirus firms say a new variant of MyDoom - also called Swash.a -- was discovered on Monday but at this stage they say it is unlikely that the two incidents are related.
