Santorum asks Google to clean up web search

Some people inherit embarrassing surnames; women often pick them up when they marry. And then there's Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who is pleading with Google to remove a reference to his name from internet searches.

Mr Santorum caused offence with comments about homosexuality. This led to gay rights activists starting an online competition to "memorialise" his surname. The result links to sex-related definitions of the former Pennsylvania senator's name. "To have a business allow that type of filth to be purveyed through their website is something that they say they can't handle," the politician said.

Google insists it is not the company's place to remove content, unless it is illegal or violates guidelines.