Google will next week be hit with a record EU fine for using its Android smartphone system to fortify its search empire.

The fine, likely to be handed down on Tuesday or Wednesday, is expected to eclipse the £2.1bn monopoly abuse penalty Google paid last year over its internet shopping business, and escalates the war between Silicon Valley and Brussels.

Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s competition chief, has been investigating Google for three years over complaints the company illegally forces smartphone manufacturers to install its apps.

It gives its Android software to phone manufacturers for free, but binds them to “exclusivity agreements” that force them to install Google’s web browser and search engine if they use the Google Play app store.

Opponents claim that this constitutes abuse of Android’s 74pc share of the European smartphone market and harms rival search engines and browsers. Google, meanwhile, insists the agreements allow Android to remain free to manufacturers and help them compete against Apple.