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* EU says Google unfairly pushes own apps with Android
* EU has already charged Google over Internet shopping
* Google faces hefty fines, changes to business model (Adds details)
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, April 20 - The European Union charged Google on Wednesday with using its dominant Android mobileoperating system to squeeze out rivals, opening a second frontagainst the U.S. technology giant that could result in largefines.
EU antitrust regulators said that by requiring mobile phonemanufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chromebrowser to get access to other Google apps, the U.S. company washarming consumers by stifling competition.
The European Commission said such practices, which startedin 2011 when the company became dominant in mobile operatingsystems and app stores, showed Google was seeking to shield itssearch engine, the world's most popular, from competition.
Google is already facing EU charges over the promotion ofits shopping service in Internet searches at the expense ofrival services in a case that has dragged on since late 2010despite three attempts to resolve the issues.
The stakes are higher for Google in the Android case as itmade about $11 billion last year from advertising sales onAndroid phones through its apps such as Maps, Search and Gmail,according to estimates by financial analyst Richard Windsor.
"A competitive mobile Internet sector is increasinglyimportant for consumers and businesses in Europe," EuropeanCompetition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.
"We believe that Google's behaviour denies consumers a widerchoice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way ofinnovation by other players," she said.
The European Commission said about 80 percent of smartmobile devices in Europe and the world run on Android and thatGoogle holds more than 90 percent of the market for generalInternet searches on Android in the European Economic Area.
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Google, which has 12 weeks to respond to the charges, saidAndroid was a remarkable system based on open-source softwareand open innovation.
"We look forward to working with the European Commission todemonstrate that Android is good for competition and good forconsumers," Google's general counsel Kent Walker said in a blog.
He said any phone maker could load Google apps and rivalproducts and that users had freedom of choice as well.
Complainant FairSearch said Google was hindering thedevelopment of versions that might lead to new operating systemsable to compete with Android, despite launching it as an opensource project.
The Commission said while Android was an open source systemthat could be used to develop new mobile operating systems -known as Android forks - Google required phone manufacturers tosign an agreement not to sell devices running on such forks ifthey wanted to pre-install Google apps.
The EU also charged Google with giving "significantfinancial incentives" to some of the world's largest smartphonemakers to pre-install Google Search exclusively on devices.
Internet Explorer-browser maker Microsoft Corp declined to comment. Firefox owner Mozilla, Apple whichhas the Safari browser, and Norway's Opera Software were not immediately available to comment.
Vodafone, BT Group's EE, Orange,Deutsche Telekom, KPN, Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics were not immediatelyavailable to comment. Huawei declined to comment.
(Additional reporting by Eric Auchard and Harro ten Wolde inFrankfurt, Se Young Lee in Seoul; writing by Philip Blenkinsop;editing by David Clarke)
