With all the data Google collects about us and our search histories, could the company use its technical prowess to help catch terrorists and mass murderers before they commit crimes?

Norwegian daily Dagbladet reported that terrorist Anders Breivik spent 200 days searching Google for terms such as "how to make a bomb" before he went on his rampage.

Already Google uses data from searches to improve its targeted advertising and search rankings - and even to track the spread of the flu - leading academic ideas site The Conversation to ask the question "Why didn't Google catch the Norway killer?"

Speaking to the website, Charles Sturt University computer science lecturer Craig Wright said he expected people in European countries to call for search engines to monitor user behaviour as a result of the attacks.