Originally Posted by
Synthetic
Its not limiting your search options, afaik. We have the same thing happen in Aus, and has been that way for a number of years. Anytime I want to limit my search to Australia, I have an extra radio button to select that option.
While it doesn't (to my knowledge) limit your search options, it does seem to affect the results and the rankings. When I know I want something specific to a certain country I always point myself to their Google site, and seem to get better results.