To recap the last two-months in a few lines, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) was courting Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), but the reality is Microsoft doesn’t want Yahoo so much as it just wants to be able to compete online – which basically means competing with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). Well, besides an imminent partnership with Yahoo, Microsoft has long been rumored to want to make a play for Facebook beyond the 1.6% it already bought for $240 million last October.

Bloomberg has released a tiny item saying “Facebook Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to sell the social-networking site, even if Microsoft Corp. offered $15 billion.” This is based on Zuckerberg’s comments at All Things Digital that, “the goal of the company is to execute on the things we talked about before,'' meaning share information about themselves and their lives more easily.

Despite this, many people have said similar things before about selling – but money talks. News site IDG.NO speculates in “What if Microsoft Bought Facebook?”

“An interesting rumor has surfaced: Microsoft would buy Yahoo Search, then spend a further US$20 billion to buy Facebook. Despite what Mark Zuckerberg says about Facebook remaining independent, it would be difficult to forego that rich an exit.

Facebook is one of several social networks, second only to MySpace and growing rapidly. But while MySpace is still larger, it is the flow of information through Facebook, and the social engagement of its members that makes it important.

Purchasing Facebook would give Microsoft access to over 60 million captive, and very social users, who could potentially be used to drive the growth of Live Search -- as well as access to all of their information, and in some cases their entire social lives.

Robert Scoble suggests that this would allow Microsoft to lock Google out of a huge chunk of internet information.

Buying Facebook might give Microsoft a small temporary boost. On the other hand, more than 140 million copies of Windows Vista with an Internet Explorer search box directed right to Microsoft Live Search haven't helped much. And Microsoft hasn't really been able to capitalize on user volume of existing services such as Hotmail or MSN instant messaging.

But let's step back a little. Microsoft hasn't detailed its plans yet, and a talk of its plans relating to Facebook is mostly rumor and conjecture. Still, if I were Google, I wouldn't worry too much just yet.”