Google is the best place to work in US: Fortune

Internet giant Google, which is well known for showering perks on its employees, is also the best company to work for in the United States, according to Fortune magazine.

The Mountain View, California-based company hired about 7,000 people in 2011, raising its headcount to 32,000 and still improved its 2012 ranking in Fortune magazine's list of best companies to work for - rising from the fourth to the first in a list of 100.

''Even in Silicon Valley, Google is a giant. It has nearly 32,000 employees cranking on everything from cell phone software to search algorithms. And just as it does with its products, the company continues to set the bar high with perks few other companies can match, whether it's free gourmet food, on-site laundry, dry-cleaning, and alterations, an outdoor sports complex, or the star-studded lineup of speakers,'' Fortune wrote.

Google opened a large outdoor sports facility – the Garfield sports complex - for its employees. last summer. It includes a soccer field, basketball court, two tennis courts, two bocce ball courts, two horseshoe pits, a putting green and a roller hockey rink.

''When employees aren't hitting the bocce ball courts in Mountain View, they're kicking back at other on-campus options like the bowling alley, where users can reserve one of four lanes. At the Google Dance Studio, they can choose from one of 31 weekly classes like Capoeira or the utilitarian "How to dance at a party," taught by professional instructors and experienced volunteer Googlers,'' Fortune wrote.