In case you’ve been living under a rock and have not heard, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. just agreed to join forces to take down Internet search engine Goliath Google. In today’s economy the best solution for corporations may be to merge. Microsoft and Yahoo recently revealed their merger creating a 10-year Internet search agreement. In a statement made by Yahoo and Microsoft they said “Microsoft will now power Yahoo search, while Yahoo will become the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers," Yahoo and Microsoft will be using Microsoft’s heavily promoted Bing search engine.

Yahoo and Microsoft will keep their brand identities but when someone searches for something on Yahoo the results will say “powered by Bing”. Yahoo will recruit all sales and target customers. Everyone is saying that the ultimate goal of Yahoo and Microsoft’s merger is to bring down Google. Yahoo recently suffered a huge drop in the value of their shares, According to Yahoo chief Executive Carol Bartz, “This deal is really about scale. By combining the technology of both companies, we can create a real, viable alternative for advertisers.”

Microsoft executives said the merger will coast Microsoft Corp. “several hundreds of million dollars.” But the investment will be profitable in the long run and Microsoft claims Yahoo and Microsoft will create a bigger, stronger, more efficient search engine. According to Microsoft chief Steve Balmer, “This is really a win-win agreement both for Microsoft and for Yahoo. Consumers will get better products, and it will help the industry as a whole to prosper through our shared vision and shared value.”

The Microsoft/ Yahoo merger will be finalized in early 2010, so only time will tell. I know we will all be watching, waiting and searching. Sing it with me now, “BINGGGGG!”