Google may seem set to dominate for ever - but the web is never that static 

Internet consultants and others may stand to profit from a new partnership between Microsoft and Yahoo! that will see the latter's paid search and algorithmic platforms moved over to Microsoft.

Such a move will, it is claimed, mean that consumers are provided with more innovation, while advertisers and web publishers are afforded greater efficiency and volume, as well as improved monetisation opportunities, as the platform will hold a bigger collection of search queries.

Yahoo! - which recently opened a new data centre in Nebraska to support its search engine service - is to be provided with the same search results as those available through Bing and these will then be enhanced through integration with Yahoo! content.

This has come about after the European Commission and the US Department of Justice cleared the agreement between the two companies - which was originally announced in July 2009 - and Carol Bartz, chief executive of Yahoo!, said that it means her organisation "can focus even more on our own innovative search experience".

And chief executive of Microsoft Steve Ballmer remarked: "I believe that together, Microsoft and Yahoo! will promote more choice, better value and greater innovation to our customers", calling the alliance between the two "an exciting milestone".

Source: Yahoo