Web competition is getting stiffer and stiffer everyday. Moreover, the persons who feel the gravity of online rivalry are those who are in it. In fact, even the richest and most popular companies are awestruck by the recent flow of events in the industry.

In an interview with Steven Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, he unveiled his standing as well as that of Microsoft, regarding the flow of Web business and the latest breed competition. Ballmer admitted that he was enthralled by Web 2.0 valuations.

Ballmer also talked about Microsoft's digital music business and video games. When asked to comment on Google's purchase of YouTube, Ballmer said, "Could Google do whatever it is they're hoping to buy without paying $1.6 billion? Is YouTube really some permanent, long-term thing, or is it a fashion? I'm not saying it is a fashion. But every time we do valuations, I wonder if we can afford to keep this hot for 10 years. I'm sure somebody at Google has got to do the same analysis, because even $1.6 billion is more than 1% of their market cap."

When asked who are Microsoft's top competitors, Ballmer noted, "Guys who can touch us in multiple places probably matter more than guys who can touch us in any one place. And actually we don't really have our big competition from any one company. Any one company, we know how to compete with."