In a recent development which some have called a "direct assault" on Google, technology and software giant Microsoft is locked in talks with News Corp. about paying the Wall Street Journal publisher to remove all its news sites from Google's search results and cutting the search engine giant off. If the plan gets through, Google will be under increased pressure to pay the Murdoch empire if it wants their content included in its results.

The plan is being seen by many as Microsoft's way of making its own search engine, Bing, more user friendly and informative. Some experts feel that the move "is all about Microsoft hurting Google's margin". Recent survey by comScore had put Google's US search engine market share at nearly 66%, making it the dominant engine once more.

In addition to Microsoft's Bing, the newspaper industry could also stand to benefit from the development. It is yet to construct a reliable business model from online marketing to replace the falling printed newspapers' circulation and advertising revenues.

Rupert Murdoch, who has already stated that Google seems to be "stealing" from his large newspaper resources, is looking to block the search engine altogether as News Corp. plans on making online content paid.

Microsoft seems to be making every effort to hurt Google's market share and replace Bing with it. Although no official comments have been made by any parties involved, Google has asserted that "news organizations are free to opt out of being indexed".