In closing a $6 billion buyout of digital marketing company aQuantive yesterday, Microsoft is taking a first step in its quest to leapfrog Yahoo and challenge Google in the online advertising business.
"Our goal is to be No. 1 or No. 2," Kevin R. Johnson, president of Microsoft Corp.'s platforms and services division, said in an interview last week.
It's an ambitious plan, given that the software maker lags far behind Yahoo Inc. and Google Inc. in search traffic and advertising revenue.
Microsoft has said changes in the software industry - a shift away from desktop programs and toward applications delivered over the Internet - will touch every one of the company's products, in ways yet to be determined.
