Microhoo – To Be or Not to Be?

The possible merger between Microsoft and Yahoo continues to be one of the most widely discussed topics. Analysts believe that now that it has become clear that there will be no knight on a white horse offering to save Yahoo, decision time has come. Two are the most probable outcomes of the situation: either Yahoo would give in to Microsoft or it will try to make a deal with Google, outsourcing Yahoo's search advertising to its biggest rival. One thing that makes the second outcome less likely than the first is the fact that so far Google does not appear to be interested in offering any deal to Yahoo. According to some this is probably due to Google not wanting to risk being involved in anti-trust issues again, especially after all the clamor surrounding the deal with DoubleClick. While it is clear that a potential merger between Microsoft and Yahoo will not threaten Google’s number one place as a search provider, some observers note that the combined content of Yahoo! and MSN properties yields an impressive list of top sites by industry category. The decision is not yet taken but questions about the future of Yahoo employees and products is a matter of concern to both users and the general public.