SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – Google Inc.’s long-awaited initial stock sale, which appeared imminent Tuesday, was delayed while the company awaits final approval of its paperwork by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Internet search company had requested its registration statement be made effective at 4 p.m. EDT. John Heine, an SEC spokesman, said regulators would make no decision Tuesday. He would not provide a reason for the delay.

Google did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

The company has updated its regulatory filings several times since first announcing its plans to go public in April. Typically, companies work closely with the SEC to ensure all paperwork is in order, making final approval a routine process.

Google had planned to close its share price-setting auction no earlier than an hour after receiving the SEC’s blessings. If that had happened, winning bidders could have been notified and shares could have been traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market as early as Wednesday.

Google anticipates its 25.7 million shares will be priced between $108 and $135 each in what could be a $3 billion initial public offering, which would be a record for an Internet company. If the stock trades at the midpoint of Google’s range, it would have a market capitalization of about $30 billion – lower than Yahoo Inc.’s but above General Motors Corp.

The deal would turn Google’s 30-something co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin into billionaires and create a windfall for the search company’s early investors and 2,292 employees who are expected to sell at market prices shares they bought for as little as 30 cents each.

Insiders flooding the market combined with strong demand from outside investors could lead to surprises when the stock finally debuts.

That’s nothing new for Google.

Since it was founded in 1998 by Stanford University students Page and Brin, it has always been something of an oddball. Its design eschewed flashy ads for a simple, quick-loading layout. Its search algorithm out-powered all rivals. Its name became synonymous with Internet search.

The Mountain View-based company, which makes money by selling text advertising, managed to prosper as a private company even while other dot-coms were collapsing. Now, as the technology industry is just recovering, Google stands to prosper even more.

Since Google announced in April it planned to make its stock available with an unusual IPO auction that would set price on demand, the company has drawn attention with its folksy letters embedded in filings and sometimes odd missteps.

A Playboy interview with Google’s founders, published during a period when securities law restricts what executives can say, contained misleading information. An amended IPO filing contained the entire article and corrected several inaccurate statements, such as the company’s number of employees.

And the company neglected to register millions of shares that were issued from September 2001 through July 2004, primarily to employees and consultants. To make amends, Google is offering to buy back the shares and options for $25.9 million.

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On the Net:

Google IPO site: http://www.ipo.google.com

AP-ES-08-17-04 1844EDT