If you can't beat em, buy em. Some would argue that has been Microsoft's strategy all along, and if BBC's report is accurate, Microsoft have put in a $US44.6 billion bid to purchase Yahoo.

Yahoo has struggled to compete with Google (which search engine hasn't?) and planned to spend another $US300 million to combat the problem. Microsoft's own Live search has also struggled to compete with Google, so purchasing Yahoo might be their way of not only buying some competition but also having considerable more muscle to take on Google.

In this author's opinion, it will take a lot more than buying search engine companies to knock the mighty Google off from it's perch.

This offer is 63% higher than Yahoo's closing share price from last Thursday.

Source: BBC News.

Update 01: IStartedSomething.com has a good chart comparing current Microsoft and Yahoo services. With each service Microsoft will have to decide to keep it as is, integrate Yahoo’s into Microsoft’s, integrate Microsoft’s into Yahoo’s or even come up with a new hybrid.

Update 02: Google have made an on Microsoft's bid for Yahoo! And Microsoft have to Google's statement.