Microsoft has shown a softer side, while criticising Google's plan to acquire $3.1 billion online advertiser DoubleClick. This was reported by Reuters. It is believed that DoubleClick deal will give the search engine group a dominant position.

In Paris, Jean-Philippe Courtois, head of Microsoft International told journalists, "The question is not for Microsoft to have specific views (on this deal)…As in all markets, it is for the regulator to see if the competition is right."

Just few days back, Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, expressed in a different way by saying on the deal, by saying "the overwhelmingly dominant pipeline for all forms of advertising and it would be bad for consumers."

It came up from Courtois that Microsoft was keen to take an active part in the $40 billion digital marketing market. He even predicted that online advertising market was growing between 15-20 percent per year, whereas for the global advertising market, the growth is only between 2 percent and 3 percent.

To make a mark in the global advertising market, Microsoft bought Aquantive for $6 billion, which is the biggest competitor of DoubleClick.

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