Internet search engine giant Google has reported a 38 per cent growth in net income at $1.96 billion in the three-month period ending March 31, 2010, on the back of rising demand.

In the year-ago period, the company had a net income of $1.42 billion, Google said in a statement.

The company’s revenue rose by 23 per cent to $6.77 billion for January-March quarter of 2010.

“Google performed very well in the first quarter, with 23 per cent year-over-year revenue growth driven by strength across all major verticals and geographies.

“Going forward, we remain committed to heavy investment in innovation — both to spur future growth in our core and emerging businesses as well as to help build the future of the open web,” company’s CFO Patrick Pichette said.

The company also increased its global workforce by nearly 800 employees during the period. This is believed as its biggest increase in staff since the first quarter of 2008.

At the end of March 31, 2010, Google has about 20,621 full-time employees across the globe.

Google-owned sites generated a revenue of $4.44 billion in the quarter under review, a rise of 20 per cent over the year-ago period.

Further, Google’s partner sites revenue, through AdSense programmes rose by 24 per cent to $2.04 billion in the first quarter of 2010.

Google has a good cash reserve of $26.5 billion at the end of March 31, 2010.

In terms of geographical location, Google has registered most of its growth from outside the U.S. The company’s revenue from outside the U.S. totalled $3.58 billion, representing 53 per cent of overall revenue in the first quarter of 2010.

Moreover, Google’s revenue from the U.K. stood at $842 million in the January to March quarter of 2010, which is 13 per cent of total revenue.