Google is in the cross-hairs of Texas, specifically Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, who has launched an inquiry into whether Google’s search listings are ranked in an anticompetitive manner. Making the matter more intriguing is Google’s suggestion in a Friday blog post which suggest Microsoft is aiding in furthering the accusations.

What does the issue concern? Specifically the claim is that Google, the world's king of online search, is unfairly disadvantaging some companies by giving them a low ranking in free search listings and in paid ads that appear at the top of the page. The implications are that, if true, antitrust laws are being violated by giving those that pay a competitive advantage.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's office asked for information about three companies who have publicly complained about Google, according to blog post by Don Harrison, the company's deputy general counsel. In the post, that’s where Harrison links each of the companies listed to Microsoft.

One is Foundem, "the British price comparison site that is backed by ICOMP, an organization funded largely by Microsoft," he writes. Another is myTriggers, which Harrison calls a "site represented by Microsoft’s antitrust attorneys." SourceTool, the third site, is also "represented by longtime Microsoft antitrust attorneys."

Google denies that it tries to get a competitive edge out of its rankings. "The important thing to remember is that we built Google to provide the most useful, relevant search results and ads for users. In other words, our focus is on users, not websites," Harrison writes.

He added that because Google cannot give every website a high rank, "it’s unsurprising that some less relevant, lower quality websites will be unhappy with their ranking."

The company said it looks "forward to working cooperatively with the Texas Attorney General’s office."

What do you think? Are Google’s actions anticompetitive? How do you see the situation ending?

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