What would a Microsoft-Yahoo deal mean for web users?

Bobbie Johnson assesses the implications for the two web giants' services and their users
Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Friday February 01 2008. It was last updated at 14:43 on February 01 2008.

Between them, Microsoft and Yahoo own some of the most popular online services in the world. Yahoo as a whole remains among the top websites on the net, used by more than 130 million people each month (MySpace is its biggest competitor); Microsoft, meanwhile, has hugely popular programs such as MSN Messenger in its pocket.

But what would it mean for ordinary users if the two were brought together?
The picture remains unclear at the moment, despite Microsoft saying it has created a detailed integration plan, but a deal would be likely to result in several popular products hitting the skids.

The email service Hotmail, for example, is one of Microsoft's flagship web products, but it remains second to Yahoo Mail, which has nearly half of the market. In the end, one system would probably end up overtaking the other, even if the names remain in place.

Elsewhere, closer integration of their competing instant messengers would make sense. With Microsoft the world's dominant software company thanks to the Windows platform, Yahoo messenger could eventually see the curtains come down.

It also appears likely the two would not be able to keep their search engines running separately. One of the main reasons to merge is the failure of their respective products – Yahoo search and Live search – to oust Google as the market leader. Recent figures suggest Yahoo search is more than twice the size of MSN at the moment.

Elsewhere, millions of people who use the pair's other services will be scratching their heads. What happens to your blog, photos or the music and video you have online?

Again, the news here could be better if you're an existing Yahoo user. Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, said these sorts of services are exactly what appeals in the deal. Yahoo is well placed, with a number of leading social web properties such as the photo-sharing website Flickr and the events site Upcoming. These would most likely replace some of Microsoft's less-used products.

Ultimately, the deal could lead to Yahoo's website incorporating many of the innovations Microsoft has tried to force through to the internet, including online Office programs, which have come under some fire as Google launches its own web-based documents and spreadsheets product.

"We need to increasingly embrace the internet, there will be innovations where Windows and Office continue to be energised by the internet," the Microsoft chief executive, Steve Ballmer, said today. "We have some thoughts, but a team from both companies would be best prepared to assess that."