It was bound to happen, but both Microsoft and Yahoo confirmed to Reuters that the U.S. Department of Justice is taking a look at a search deal between the two companies. The agreement, announced in July , would see Yahoo turning over the back end of its search engine to Microsoft’s Bing. This allows Yahoo to focus more on being a Web portal, and while Microsoft can take on the unenviable task of battling Google, which has 65 percent of the search market. It’s not clear what information the government’s trustbusters are looking at, but both companies say they’re

cooperating with requests for documentation. If no one in the DOJ is peeved by the idea, you might see YaBingHoo (my moniker, not the companies’) in early 2010. [via InformationWeek ] Related Posts Yahoo Shareholders Skeptical of Deal, Prices Drop Microsoft, Yahoo Ad Deal in the Works: Should Google Be Afraid? Bing Gaining on Yahoo, Still far from Google Bing Beats Digg, Twitter in Traffic Yahoo!, Microsoft and Others Challenge Google’s Digitization of Books Microsoft, Yahoo Team Up For Search Advertising Partnership Super-Slim Microsoft Bluetooth Keyboard

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DOJ Antitrust Eyes Microsoft-Yahoo Deal