Google Inc, the most-used Internet search engine, won a court ruling that allows a former Microsoft Corp executive to recruit staff for Google's research center in Beijing.

　　Both sides claimed victory following Washington Judge Steven Gonzalez's ruling in Seattle yesterday that also says the executive, Lee Kai-Fu, can't perform certain other tasks at the planned Google facility. This includes working on technical research and development or setting budgets and compensation. Google in July hired Lee, a former Microsoft vice president, to open the research center.

　　The case produced documents in which Google claimed Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer used, at times, profane criticism of Google and Lee. It underscored the personal nature of the companies' battle for a global audience using their Internet search engines.

　　"Google gets what they want immediately, and in the long run Google gets a very smart and experienced employee," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, in Washington, who doesn't own shares in either company. "I think the larger issue is Microsoft is losing some high-profile employees, and some of them are going to Google."

　　Lee, who is going to be Google China's first president, will arrive in China to recruit people in about two weeks, according to Google. The firm has already established a representative office in Shanghai.

　　In July, Gonzalez granted Microsoft a temporary order that required Lee, 43, to honor a non-compete agreement he signed with Microsoft and blocked him from opening Google's research center. Yesterday's ruling extends through a scheduled trial in January.

　　"Microsoft has not sufficiently shown that it has a clear legal or equitable right" to stop Lee "from establishing and staffing a Google development facility in China," Gonzalez wrote.

　　On the other hand, Microsoft Vice President Tom Burt said the company was satisfied with the ruling as Lee has been prohibited working on Internet or mobile search technologies and computerized speech recognition at Mountain View, California-based Google while the one-year non-compete clause remains in effect.

　　Meanwhile, Microsoft is making moves in China to compete with Google.

　　Microsoft has opened a Shanghai branch of its Asia Advanced Technology Center and plans to hire about 100 engineers.

　　(Bloomberg/Shanghai Daily)