Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The Brazilian unit of Google Inc., the operator of Orkut, the country's most-used online community site, was ordered by a Sao Paulo judge to turn over data on users to prosecutors.

Judge Jose Marcos Lunardelli of the 17th District Federal Civil Court gave Google Brasil Internet Ltda. 15 days to comply with the order or face fines of 50,000-reais ($23,559) day. The ruling was disclosed on Brazil's Public Attorney's Office Web site.

Lunardelli granted the order after the prosecutors filed a lawsuit last month demanding information about users of the service who allegedly distributed pornographic and racist materials on Orkut, which has more than 20 million users in Brazil.

Google's Brazilian unit said in an e-mail it filed an appeal asking the judge to reconsider the order. The unit said its parent company, based in Mountain View, California, is solely responsible for Orkut. The unit also said it complied with all court orders requesting information on Orkut and that only a criminal court has jurisdiction on the case, not a civil court.

Durval de Noronha Goyos Jr., a lawyer for Google Inc. in Brazil, said on Aug. 23 the requests for information need to be directed to the parent company in Mountain View, California, because the local unit is just a sales office and has no access to the data.

The parent company has complied with court orders after it receives them, he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Romina Nicaretta at rnicaretta@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 1, 2006 17:41 EDT