With or without Yahoo, Microsoft will be a serious player in the online ad business. That was the message from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates.

"We can afford to make big investments in the engineering and marketing that needs to get done," Gates told Reuters. "We will do that with or without Yahoo."

However, Gates did concede that Microsoft would reach its goals faster with Yahoo than without it, and today, Microsoft stepped up its efforts to acquire the internet giant.

According to a report in The New York Times, Microsoft has launched a proxy fight aimed at unseating Yahoo's board. The move is considered a cheaper alternative for Microsoft, which so far has balked at raising its $44 billion bid.