[Code Monkey]

Didn't this same rumor make it's way around the net last year? It seems pointless to me unless one of them decides to become a relevant factor in user searches. At this time neither of them offer much to webmaster or searcher. Sometimes I think rumors like this are spread to manipulate stocks and make the rich richer.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - US software giant Microsoft and web portal Yahoo were reported Friday to be exploring merger or alliance to better compete against Google, but both remained tight-lipped about the rumors.

Yahoo's stock price leaped about 18 percent and Microsoft's slipped slightly after The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post reported that the technology titans might unite to take on Internet search powerhouse Google.

The Journal backed off the report late Friday, citing anonymous sources as saying that merger discussions took place in recent months but "are no longer active" but the two companies "may still explore other ways of cooperating."

The rumors are at odds with the mood at Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo, where morale and optimism have been buoyed in recent months with the successful launch of its new Panama online advertising platform.

You can read the rest here Microsoft, Yahoo in tie-up talks: reports - Yahoo! News

[da420]

This is very interesting news. But, alas, you are probably right, it is just to make the rich richer. But, hey, isn't capitalism great? :P

[Yvgeniy]

Isn't Yahoo allying with Google? I mean, Google is still the top search engine out there, which caused Yahoo to make certain submissions to them, meaning they're not exactly happy, but I did think they were partners in some sense.