Microsoft trying to buy Google?

Yep. The NYT is reporting that “According to company executives and others briefed on the discussions, Microsoft – desperate to capture a slice of the popular and ad-generating search business – approached Google within the last two months to discuss options, including the possibility of a takeover.”

There will be a lot more of this as Google moves towards a stock market flotation. The obvious thing to do is for Google to auction its shares to Internet users rather than going down the usual corrupt route of letting merchant banks corner huge blocks of shares — enabling their clients to make easy killings and control of the company to pass to Redmond in due course.

Lovely piece in today’s Economist about Google. Nice cartoon too.

Image (c) The Economist 2003, naturally.