Of course, Internet giants including AOL, MSN and Yahoo!

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Some analysts now say internet advertising revenue will drop about 20% this year - a blow Yahoo can ill afford, having already slipped behind AOL and Microsoft's MSN in the internet-portal race.

BBC: Yahoo's next move

Windows Me comes bundled with the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Media Player and MSN Messenger.

CNN: Cutting Edge: Into The New Millennium

And while Microsoft currently offers digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access in conjunction with its MSN online service, it needs a cable modem offering to drive more traffic to all of its Web properties.

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Ivillage, one of the biggest Internet success stories, has plenty of competition from Network for Women, MSN Women, Oprah.com and Forbeswoman.

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Microsoft also is wooing 25 million daily visitors to its free Web site at MSN.com, hoping to entice some of them to become paying customers of its Internet access service.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Google currently handles 66% of searches on the internet in America, compared with 21% for Yahoo and a mere 7% for Microsoft (through MSN and its new search engine, live.com).

ECONOMIST: Microsoft's bid for Yahoo!