Desperate to burnish its credentials as a credible player in the search and e-commerce arena, Microsoft is buying Greefield Online, owner of Cia GmbH, an European price comparison, shopping and consumer reviews sites for $486 million.

Ciao’s technology platform, online community and extensive merchant relationships are to be integrated within Microsoft’s total-disaster of a Live Search platform.

Microsoft expects the deal will increase its European commercial search capabilities and make its crappy Live Search the premier destination for consumers and merchants.

Yeah, right. Thanks for livening up a boring Friday, Microsoft.

The search game is over. Period.

Thanks to an inept Microsoft and its bumbling leader Steve Ballmer, Google is having a merry reign.

By the way, in comScore’s June 2008 study of the online search market in India, Microsoft sites accounted for a tiny and irrelevant 1.7% share of searches.