(BRUSSELS) - EU antitrust regulators gave the greenlight on Tuesday to Google's takeover of online advertising giant DoubleClick after ruling the deal would not stifle competition.

"The (European) Commission's in-depth investigation, opened in November 2007, concluded that the transaction would be unlikely to have harmful effects on consumers," Europe's top anti-trust watchdog said in a statement.

"The Commission has therefore concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition," it added.

Google ended a bidding war with Microsoft in April by agreeing to pay 3.1 billion dollars (2.0 billion euros) to add DoubleClick to its Internet money-making arsenal.

The deal has fuelled concerns that it could pose privacy risks by giving the Internet giant unprecedented access to personal data.

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