With a frenzy of press comment and speculation following Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo! last week, the Sydney Morning Herald reports on the implications of such a move in Australia between the 2 search portals. Both sites are in 50/50 joint ventures with fierce TV network rivals, as Yahoo7 is a partnership with Seven Media and NineMSN is a partnership with the Nine Network.

Should the takeover succeed in the US, then the 2 search portals in Australia will come under the same owner and, according to analysts, would be an untenable situation, so that at least one of the partnerships would need to be disbanded. This relationship between the 2 search portals and the TV networks is unique and enables the sites to enjoy the use of content provided by the networks but will be one of the many issues that will need to be reviewed and resolved should the acquisition eventually take place.