Microsoft Corporation lodged an antitrust complaint to the European Commission Thursday against Google Inc. for allegedly abusing its domination of online search and advertising. This is the first time the company has sued a rival with a government agency. Ironically, Microsoft has been frequently targeted by its rivals practically for the same complaint it is lodging against Google.

The antitrust complaint lodged by Microsoft Corporation stemmed from the issues raised by several smaller websites asking for an investigation into Google’s alleged unfair business practice. The first complaint was filed by Microsoft owned Ciao, an online shopping site, and Foundem, a price comparison site associated with a technology trade group supported by Microsoft.

Google was not surprised with the latest complaint filed by Microsoft. According to Al Verney, they are in continuous discussion with the European Commission and would be willing to discuss their business process to anyone. While the specifics of their complaint remained confidential, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith specified the basics in a blog post.

According to the complaint, Google is making it difficult for Windows powered mobile phones to access You Tube. Microsoft complained that Google has made it much easier for the Apple iPhone and its Google Android phones to access the video sharing site. Google CEO Eric Schmidt was in Apple’s Board of Directors when the iPhone was launched in 2007.

The complaint also alleged that Google has made data transfer difficult for Microsoft’s advertisers to manage online marketing campaigns to rival search engines. In addition, Microsoft said that Google designed its search formulas to increase the expenses of rival search engines in buying the ads that appears on Google’s search results.

Finally, Microsoft said that Google is making it extremely difficult for the former’s Bing and rival search engines to index the videos on You Tube, a contradiction to the latter’s crusade for an easily accessible content.

In the United States, the Justice Department is conducting a review of Google’s proposal to acquire airfare tracker ITA Software for $700 million if it would give the company an unfair advantage in online travel. Texas is also reviewing Google’s business practices.

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