Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc., the svelte computer maker turned mobile-phone innovator, surpassed Google Inc.'s market value for the first time yesterday as investors await proof the Internet company can turn new projects into money-makers.

The CHART OF THE DAY shows the maker of the best-selling iPod music player and iPhone passing Google, making it the No. 3 technology company in the Standard & Poor's 500 behind Microsoft Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. Google stock has fallen more than twice as far as Apple this year amid doubts about the health of the market for Web advertising.

``There's no real urgency to go in and buy Google,'' said Ross Sandler, an RBC Capital Markets analyst in New York.

Consumers bought 1 million iPhones in the first three days after Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs released a faster, cheaper version last month. Apple posted 31 percent profit growth last quarter on sales of computers and music players.

Google shares declined 28 percent this year before today, compared with 9.5 percent for Apple, after telling investors the owner of the most popular search engine will face a challenging economic environment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Amy Thomson in New York at athomson6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 14, 2008 10:59 EDT