微软与雅虎即将缔结在线联盟
Microsoft and Yahoo are on the brink of sealing an online alliance that could create a more formidable rival to Google in the search business.
微软(Microsoft)和雅虎(Yahoo)即将缔结在线联盟，可能成为谷歌(Google)在搜索领域更强大的竞争对手。
The deal had yet to be formally concluded late on Tuesday but the major terms had been agreed in principle and, according to one person close to the discussions, an agreement could be announced on Wednesday.
双方在周二晚间尚未正式签订协议，但已就主要条款在原则上达成一致，据知情人士称，协议可能于周三宣布。
Successful completion of the talks would mark an end to Microsoft's 18-month pursuit of Yahoo, which began with an unsolicited full takeover bid that rocked the internet world. Since last summer, the software giant has been pushing for a looser alliance that would combine the search technology and search advertising systems of the two companies and give it a better chance to catch up with Google.
谈判的成功完成，将为微软对雅虎长达18个月的追求划上句号。18个月前，微软主动提出全面收购雅虎，震惊了互联网世界。去年夏季以来，这家软件巨擘改为追求与雅虎达成更宽松的合作关系，把两家公司的搜索技术和搜索广告系统合并，令其更有机会赶上谷歌。
The talks picked up steam late last week after the two sides reached the outlines of a deal in which Yahoo would not receive any upfront payment, as Microsoft had initially offered in the middle of last year, but the two sides would divide future search advertising revenues.
上周末，双方就交易的协议框架达成一致后，谈判开始升温。根据协议内容，雅虎不会像微软去年年中最初提出的那样接受预付款，而会与微软分享未来的搜索广告收入。
For Yahoo, the partnership would bring an influx of cash at a time of declining revenue in its search business. Chief Executive Carol Bartz, brought in from outside the company after the debacle of last year's public break-up in Microsoft talks, has continued to pare staff since taking over in January.
对于雅虎而言，在其搜索业务收入下滑之际，与微软的合作将带来现金流入。去年与微软的谈判公开破裂后，雅虎从公司外部聘请了卡罗尔•巴茨(Carol Bartz)出任其首席执行官。自今年1月上任以来，她一直在继续裁员。
Bartz is shedding non-essential Yahoo units, but she decided months ago that the company had to maintain a credible share of the search market, currently about 20 per cent. Bartz feels that the data from search is key to targeting display ads based in user preferences, and display will continue to play a major role in Yahoo's future.
巴茨正在裁撤雅虎的非核心部门，但数月前她决定，该公司必须在搜索市场上保持可信的份额（目前约为20%）。巴茨感到，要瞄准基于用户偏好的显示广告(display ads)，搜索数据非常关键，而且在雅虎的未来发展中，显示广告将继续发挥重要作用。
After Microsoft relaunched and rebranded its own search engine, Bing, a major Yahoo investor said, the fact that it was technologically a big improvement eased Yahoo's concern that it would be teaming up with an inferior product that would turn Yahoo users off.
雅虎的一位主要投资者表示，在微软重新发布自己的搜索引擎并将品牌名称更改为Bing后，这一技术上的巨大进步缓解了雅虎的担忧——雅虎原本担心，与一款较低级的产品合作，会把雅虎的用户赶跑。
“I think they've done a good job,” Bartz said last week. In the most recent quarter, Yahoo search revenue fell 15 per cent from a year earlier.
巴茨上周表示：“我认为，他们做得很好。”今年第二季度，雅虎的搜索收入同比下降了15%。
