In what looks like a last ditch effort to fend of Microsoft's bid Yahoo is close to announcing a deal that with Google that would carry search advertising from Google Inc. as part of a test that could lead to a broader partnership.

According to the WSJ Online it will be a two week test limited to no more than 3% of US traffic of Yahoo's Web search results. The test will allow the two sides to evaluate the revenue potential of a broader search ad outsourcing arrangement.

Online ad spending is due to out pace TV ad spending in the UK by the end of '09 according to a study by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), the UK online advertising trade body, in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers and the World Advertising Research Centre.