As you must have found out, Yahoo! has signed an agreement with eBay which will enable the two
companies to use each other’s technologies in order to increase their user base and incomes.

Yahoo! snatched the deal away from Microsoft, which could have used the largest auction site to pursue its worst enemy - Google.

In fact, the software giant has been negotiating with eBay for some time now towards a possible takeover. If the transaction had been finalized, the auction site would have been integrated into MSN.

Surprisingly, The New York Post informs that although talks between Microsoft and eBay have cooled, the project hasn’t been abandoned. The reason why things have cooled down is not related to the partnership between the auction site and Yahoo!, but to some antitrust fears.

The New York Post quotes sources close to the tie-up as saying that the partnership between Yahoo! and eBay would not stop Microsoft from pursuing the online auctioneer.

Analysts believe that the partnership between Yahoo! and eBay has delivered a powerful blow to the other players on the online market and that Microsoft will be forced to cut prices or pursue a similar partnership as the one between the largest portal and the largest auction site in order to catch up with Google and Yahoo!.

The Redmond company is compensating for the defeats on the online market by acquiring advertising companies in other fields, such as ads in video games and on mobile phones. Microsoft has already purchased Massive, creator of a world-leading network for video game advertising, and there are rumors that it has its eyes on Third Screen Media, which would allow the software giant to provide mobile ads.