This news is hitting the internet pretty rapidly. Microsoft have offered to buy Yahoo! for $44.6 billion! This move is to try and bolster Microsoft's position in the online services market in its continuing battle with Google. In some aspects, this move can be seen as a shock, but in others, it isn't, after all, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger users have been able to talk to each other for quite some time now. It will be interesting to see how this plays out and what it offers. I'm sure there will be many more discussions on this to come.
SL