Google released its fourth quarter earnings report saying it spent $367 million on property and equipment in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared with $678 million it invested in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Full year investment in property and equipment in 2008 was $2.35 billion compared with $2.4 for 2007.

The company said cost of revenues "which is comprised primarily of data center operational expenses, amortization of intangible assets, content acquisition costs as well as credit card processing charges, increased to $707 million, or 12% of revenues, in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to $678 million, or 12% of revenues, in the third quarter of 2008."

Google reported revenues of $5.70 billion for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, an increase of 18% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and an increase of 3% compared to the third quarter of 2008. Income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $1.86 billion, or 33% of revenues.

"Google performed well in the fourth quarter, despite an increasingly difficult economic environment. Search query growth was strong, revenues were up in most verticals, and we successfully contained costs," said Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google.

"It's unclear how long the global downturn will last, but our focus remains on the long term, and we'll continue to invest in Google's core search and ads business as well as in strategic growth areas such as display, mobile, and enterprise."