Microsoft a giant in lobbying

The most recent federal disclosure forms offer a stark reminder of Microsoft's mighty Washington presence: The software giant's lobbying tab of almost $2 million for the third quarter alone nearly equaled the amount that rival Google spent in the first nine months of the year. But Google already has spent more on lobbying this year than it did for all of 2007 as the Internet search company starts to emerge as a formidable player in DC lobbying. Both companies put their lobbying muscle on full display this year as they battled over Google's plans to sell some of the online ads that appear alongside search results on Yahoo Inc.'s website. Google and Yahoo entered into the partnership in an effort to keep Yahoo out of Microsoft's hands.