Google and Ebay forge alliance
Google and Ebay announced a ground-breaking partnership on Monday that links the fortunes of the online giants at a time when their strategies had threatened to put them increasingly on a collision course.
The alliance, which echoes a deal reached in May between Yahoo! and Ebay, will further isolate Microsoft at a time when the software developer has sought partnerships of its own to accelerate its internet initiatives.
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By creating a more complex network of dependencies between the leading online companies, the deal could also serve to dampen speculation about mergers in the industry that has been rife in recent months.
Ebay said it had given Google an exclusive contract to supply text-based advertising for its websites outside the US, echoing its earlier agreement to carry advertising from Yahoo in its home market. Also, the companies announced a non-exclusive worldwide “click-to-call” advertising agreement under which they will carry their respective voice services
