MOSCOW, July 26 - RAPSI. The appearance of alcohol ads on Google after the ban on such advertising was due to a malfunction, Google representatives in Russia told RIA Novosti.

New restrictions on advertising alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of five percent or higher came into effect on Monday in accordance with amendments to the federal law "On the State Regulation of the Production and Sales of Ethanol, Alcoholic Beverages and Alcohol-Containing Products."

The original law was enacted on July 22, 2011. The prohibition of alcohol advertisements on the Internet and in print media will come into effect on January 1, 2013.

Nevertheless, some online companies, including Google, continued to place such advertising on their websites on Wednesday.

"We have deleted those ads and we will see to it that such advertising does not appear again in our service," Google told RIA Novosti.

RIA Novosti was unable to find previous or current alcohol ads on Google on Thursday.