Last week, WebProNews and others announced that MSN was very interested in acquiring DoubleClick. DoubleClick, much like Atlas, is a system which allows for the tracking and management of Web media, from images to banners to videos and even text.

Much like an old Bruce Lee movie, the Google dragon seems to have entered the fray as soon as the price was estimated at $2B. According to various reports and a thread at WebmasterWorld Forums, Google is interested in joining MSN's pursuit of the popular and effective technology. The thread's starter cites news posted at Yahoo! and wonders if this is where MSN must make its stance. If anyone can stand up to Google, it has to be MSN, right? (side note see this interesting commentary about standing up to Google here: Is Google Too Powerful?)

The first reply indicates that MSN may be willing to back down however, quoting an MSN executive as saying

"...at $2 billion...I would pass."

The news has sparked instant interest in areas outside of SEM, including the financial blog community, as evidenced by this commentary this morning at streetinsider.

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