Google increased its share of US Internet
search traffic in April, as its two closest rivals Yahoo and Microsoft failed
to reach an agreement on a merger that might have helped them cut the company's
lead.
According to figures released Thursday by researcher ComScore the company
handled 61.6 per cent of search queries in April, compared with 59.8 per cent
in March. Yahoo had 20.4 per cent of searches, down from 21.3 per cent, while
Microsoft's share slipped to 9.1 per cent from 9.4 per cent.
The results underscored the challenge facing Microsoft and Yahoo in attempting
to thwart Google's dominance of online advertising and software.
Microsoft broke off its takeover talks with Yahoo on May 3 after the online
portal rejected its 47.5 billion dollar offer as undervaluing the company.
Microsoft on Wednesday launched a new search initiative called Cashback which
grants users a 6 per cent rebate if they buy products they find through the
company's Live Search application, dpa
reported.