Google Inc. on Thursday announced that co-founder Larry Page will take over the Internet search giant as the chief executive officer (CEO) in April, in a move to simplify management structure and speed up decision making.

In a blog post, the company's current CEO Eric Schmidt said that 37-year-old Page, who is now leading product development and technology strategy, will take charge of Google's day-to-day operations as CEO from April 4.

Google was founded by Page and Sergey Brin in 1998 while the two were graduate students at Stanford University.

Under the new management reshuffle, Brin, whose title will be co-founder, will focus on strategic project, in particular working on new products, and Schmidt will be an advisor to Page and Brin as executive chairman.

"We are confident that this focus will serve Google and our users well in the future. Larry, Sergey and I have worked exceptionally closely together for over a decade -- and we anticipate working together for a long time to come," Schmidt said.

"As friends, co-workers and computer scientists we have a lot in common, most important of all a profound belief in the potential for technology to make the world a better place," he added.

Schmidt, 55, joined Google's board of directors as chairman in March 2001 and became CEO in August 2001 when investors believed the company needed a more mature leader then.