The public attacks -- in print, television and billboard messages that warn consumers about the supposed dangers of being "Scroogled," or mistreated by Google -- marks a strategic shift in a clash of Internet titans, under the guidance of a bare-knuckle political campaign strategist.

Despite spending billions of dollars to build its own Bing search engine and online advertising service, Microsoft has failed to put much of a dent in Google's dominance of the Internet ad business. It has also gained little traction with a behind-the-scenes effort to convince government officials that Google's business is anti-competitive.

Now the Redmond, Wash., software giant is waging a high-profile, election-style blitz against its Mountain View, Calif., rival -- using public opinion polls, for example, to shape rapid-fire attacks -- with the help of Mark Penn, a veteran public relations executive and former campaign adviser to former President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Penn, who previously consulted for Microsoft, was hired full time last year.

Penn has been advising Microsoft on how to "take a fairly esoteric and complex issue and make it accessible to people who don't live in technology all day," according to Stefan Weitz, who oversees Microsoft's online businesses.

Public attacks on competitors aren't the norm for most tech companies, but there is precedent. Oracle Corp. has blasted Hewlett-Packard Co. and others. Two years ago, Google accused Bing of copying its search results.

But some industry experts are critical of Microsoft's latest volley, which suggests Google is invading users' privacy by delivering ads tailored to keywords in consumers' email messages. Analysts say the practice, which relies on automated software, has been accepted for nearly a decade.

"The idea that one company is better than the other is disingenuous and deceptive," said consumer advocate Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy, adding that all major Internet companies collect user data . "If Microsoft was as successful as Google in the search business, you would not hear a peep out of them on privacy." (continued...)

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Recommended Reading: Search & Destroy: Why You Can't Trust Google Inc. Synopsis: This is the other side of the Google story. In Search & Destroy, Google expert Scott Cleland, shows that the world's most powerful company is not who it pretends to be. Google pretends to be a harmless lamb, but chose a full-size model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex as its mascot. Beware the T-Rex in sheep's clothing.