Microsoft's proposed Yahoo acquisition would immediately give it a much bigger slice of the Internet search market, if it happens. In the meantime, it appears that Microsoft is struggling to keep up on its own.
As reported this morning, Google boosted its share of the U.S. search market in February, according to data from comScore, which officially released the numbers this afternoon. But as shown in the chart below, the latest numbers are just part of a longer-term trend. Microsoft's search share has been stagnant or slipping since its Live Search Club promotion boosted its numbers temporarily over the summer. Yahoo has been following a similar trend, while Google's numbers have edged up steadily.
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