I can totally see that. Or maybe a horse race is a better example -- a sweaty Ballmer riding Larry Page like an orangutan on the back of a Shetland pony.

Out on weighs in, saying essentially that yes, Bing copied Google, but so what? It's what a smart search engine would do. And as , it's not like Google wasn't aping the iPhone when it built Android, or Overture when it developed AdSense. In the tech world, imitation trumps innovation 9 times out of 10.

Still, there's a fine line between imitation and outright theft. I don't know if anyone can "own" a search result, but if anybody could it would be Google. In the meantime, it's fun to sit back and watch them claw at each other.

Do you care if Microsoft Bing does its thing with G strings attached? E-mail me: .