The Web search service Google has quietly started placing a counter on its home page for a small number of its most frequent users. Most Google users do not have it, but a select few now have a no-frills counter that with each search clicks higher, noting "You have done 479 searches," or whatever the actual number.
For the curious, an explanatory page linked to the counter reveals that this is a test, or limited-sample experiment of a new search counting feature.

Read more: NY Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/06/technology/06goog.html?ex=1066017600&en=6b48de61370e996b&ei=5062&partner=GOOGLE).