Will Google end up disappointing Microsoft?

-SHOMARI HINES Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy online ad -server DoubleClick, stepping up it's efforts to cash in on the booming Internet ad market. However Microsoft may have some competition in that running from rival Google. John Battelle believes the guys at Google are up to something and could swoop in and do a Ross levinsohn on Microsoft. Could a battle between Google and Microsoft lead to DoubleClick upping their asking price or will one of them bow out quietly if they feel its not worth a fight? It's a strange fact of life that Web "frienemy" (yes, we love that word) Google, doesn't accept third-party ad tags. Given the news that competitor Microsoft is considering a bid for the ad-server DoubleClick, which serves graphical CPMs for a huge portion of the ad world, rumors have surfaced that Google is planning to build its own third-party ad server for graphical ads. GoogleClick [John Battelle's Searchblog]