Google takes aim at Microsoft with acquisition

Google stepped up its assault on Microsoft's productivity software business with the acquisition of a small start-up company that allows Microsoft users to edit and share their documents on the Web.

Google said on its company blog on Friday that it has acquired San Francisco-based DocVerse. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "With DocVerse, people can begin to experience some of the benefits of Web-based collaboration using the traditional Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint desktop applications," Google Product Manager Jonathan Rochelle said in the blog post. The deal represents the latest move in the competition between Google, the world's No. 1 Internet search engine, and Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker.