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Google success was ''wake-up call'': MS

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CIOL Bureau
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SEATTLE: The success of Google Inc. served as a "wake-up call" for Microsoft Corp. to the financial power of Web advertising, Microsoft's chief technologist said on Tuesday.

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Google's success forced the company to consider advertising as a new revenue stream beyond its traditional licensing and subscription model, Microsoft's Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie said at a Goldman Sachs investor conference in Las Vegas.

"Google's success very clearly caused an inflection point within the industry and within Microsoft," Ozzie said in a question-and-answer session monitored online.

Ozzie stepped into the top technical position at Microsoft last year, replacing co-founder Bill Gates and spearheading an important transition for the $44 billion company to extend its reach beyond the computer desktop.

The challenge for Ozzie is to deliver a host of Web services alongside Microsoft's classic out-of-the-box software to remain competitive with online rivals like Google and Salesforce.com without compromising its core desktop software business.

Shares of Microsoft were down 32 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $28.75 in morning Nasdaq trading.

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