Google await SEC on real-time stock quotes

Internet finance sites run by Google Inc has been waiting months for regulatory permission to start offering free, real-time U.S. stock quotes.

But questions over how much the stock exchanges can fairly charge Web sites for trading data has the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the middle of a thorny debate over whether the market for such data is competitive and whether the charges will discriminate against smaller Internet sites.

Google Finance site won approval from two Chinese exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen to carry real-time quotes last month and almost immediately saw a leap in demand for that service.

Access to real-time stock quotes is the No. 1 demand of users of the Google finance site and Google would like to offer a number of related tools to help consumers manage their investments.