With quiet star, Microsoft targets Google's search dominance

Last Friday, DailyFinancerevealed the existence of Microsoft's secret Washington D.C.-based "Screw Google" meetings -- regular gatherings of its Capitol Hill lobbyists, public relations consultants, and other third parties where the top agenda item was to devise new and innovative ways to throw roadblocks at Google in the legal, regulatory, and public relations arenas.

But lest anyone think that Microsoft's only line of attack against Google -- and Apple, its other primary competitor -- lies in the black arts, a New York Times story today illustrates the other, more conventional ways that Microsoft fights Google, by focusing on the wonderful Qi Lu, the un-prepossessing engineer who grew up in poverty in rural China, only to one day head Yahoo's search efforts, and now lead Microsoft's efforts with Bing to try and dent Google's overwhelming lead in internet search advertising.