There may be a beneficiary of the recent headaches at Yahoo! Inc. and distractions at AOL Time Warner Inc.: Microsoft Corp. Microsoft's MSN online business, though still far behind AOL in Internet-access subscribers, is looking stronger these days as some of its rivals struggle. It has gradually assembled the busiest collection of Web sites in the world, in terms of user traffic, and is steadily boosting monthly subscribership to its Internet-access service. Though suffering from the same advertising slowdown afflicting competitors--and still not profitable after years of investment--MSN faces less pressure to reduce spending on new services. Indeed, Microsoft seems increasingly determined to use its technical expertise and financial strength to increase the pressure on AOL, Yahoo! and others.
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