A lawsuit has been filed by a Maryland Web site against the popular search engine Google.com.

The Maryland company says Google's name is causing confusion, Washington, D.C., television station WRC reported.

Google -- the California-based powerful search engine -- is about to make financial history with an initial public offering of stock. In preparation, it has filed for trademarks.

Meanwhile, Googles -- the Maryland-based children's entertainment company -- is trying to block Google's trademark applications and to prevent it from using the name, which the children's company says is taken and was first theirs.

Googles can be found in books, tapes, CDs, and a new TV pilot. It's a combination of education and entertainment aimed at children from ages 2 to 10.

Googles has a registered copyright and trademark. Since 1997, it could be found on the Web site googles.com, not to be confused with Google.com.

But there is confusion, says Stelor Productions of Darnestown, Md. Chairman Steven Ersig has filed legal papers stating that Google should be denied a trademark and forced to stop using the name.

He calls it a case of David versus Goliath.

"We are the Googles from the planet Goo. Our products are all Goo-rific and Goo-related. Google is offering on its site little Googler T-shirt and Google Goo products and are aggressively going into the children's market," Ersig said.

Professor Christine Farley teaches intellectual property at American University's Washington School of Law. She says courts will look beyond the similarity in the names.

"We compare the kinds of businesses. If you compare a search engine to children's books, there is no confusion. But now that both companies have started expanding to the same line of business for children, that may be a very related enterprise," noted Farley.

What do the Googles want from Google.com? "We have no intention to harm Google Inc. and its IPO effort. We want to protect the children of the world and to protect our interests."

Television station WRC contacted Google Inc., whose representatives said thay are aware of the legal action filed against them but have no comment.