After losing out to Google in a bidding war to buy online advertising company DoubleClick, Microsoft could be about to acquire Yahoo!, a site best known for its search capabilities. The deal is being reported to be worth as much as $50 billion, and would allow Microsoft a stronger market position to compete with Google in the growing business of online searching. Earlier this week Yahoo! announced that it would be buying a further 80% share in advertising firm Right Media for a sum of $680 million, leaving it in full control of the company, a move which probably increased Microsoft's interest in such a deal. Yahoo!'s shares rose to $32.25 from $28.18 after news of this merger, which could change the face of online searching over the coming years - and may have a significant impact on free online email services considering that Microsoft is in control of MSN Hotmail.