The initial site that posted an offensive image of Michelle Obama as a chimpanzee has removed it and posted an apology, while another site, FlyLifeStyle, still has it up.

Google, meanwhile, has refused to remove the offensive image from its image search engine under the search term Michelle Obama, despite complaints that it is racist.

The offensive image was first posted on a blog called Hot Girls, which is hosted by the Google-owned blog service, Blogger.

First, Google banned the Hot Girls' site, after it posted up the image on Oct. 21, claiming it could spread a malware virus.

The image later reappeared on, FlyLifeStyle, which Google did not take down.

Hot Girls posted a message today in Chinese under the title Michelle Obama, with this translated statement in awkward English below it:

I am very sorry for this article, and that this is the program automatically issued a document from the article. Do not the subject of race and politics make the discussion too radical and sincere hope that the world is very peaceful.

The photo is still available on Google because another blog still has it up on their site.

We will NOT be removing this picture because this is a story, and it our policy NOT to remove stories based on anything but editorial error, according to the post, adding they don't believe the photo was created out of racially motivated ignorance.

Google has meanwhile, decided to keep the photo up and run an ad next to it explaining its policy on how search engine results work.

The ad redirected users to a statement from Google which read, Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google.

Google goes on to explain that search results rely on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query.

“We apologize if you've had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results,” the company concluded.

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