SAN JOSE - A Ventura County appeared in federal court Friday to answer charges that he tried to extort $100,000 from Google Inc. by threatening to release a software program that would create bogus clicks on pop-up ads delivered by the search engine leader.

Federal agents arrested Michael Anthony Bradley, 32, of Oak View, Calif., on Thursday after secretly recording a meeting at Google's Mountain View at which he allegedly told company engineers he would sell his program to the "top 100 smammers" if his demands weren't met.

Bradley has been charged with fraud and making illegal threats. A magistrate judge released him on $50,000 bond Friday on the condition he not use a computer and avoid any contact with Google.

Google pays Web site publishers for legitimate hits on the pop-up ads its search engine generates, but Bradley allegedly claimed to have created a program that would generate false clicks and thereby cost the company millions of dollars, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco.

In an affidavit that the government used in seeking an arrest warrant for Bradley, a U.S. Secret Service wrote that Bradley first contacted Google in early March and said he wanted $100,000 to keep him from selling his program to spammers, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

After Google contacted federal officials, the videotaped meeting was arranged. During that meeting, Bradley allegedly joked that "this feels like a blackmail session" and asked the engineers, "Where's my check?," according to the newspaper.

court papers show. Among other things, Bradley offered his consulting services for a year to help Google solve problems with falsified advertising hits and asked@the Google engineers, "Where's my check?"

Bradley is scheduled to appear in court again on April 8.