Ballmer 'vowed to kill Google'

...hire Lee sparked an immediate legal battle between the two companies, which have increasingly emerged as one another's top competitors. The search company announced on 19 July that it was hiring Lee to head a new research centre in China, with Microsoft immediately suing to block the move.

Google filed a countersuit in California court to invalidate the pact with Microsoft. That case has been moved to federal court in San Jose.

Microsoft's request for the injunction was filed some time ago, but only made public on Friday after both sides had an opportunity to redact confidential information.

A representative for Microsoft did not comment beyond the filing. A Google representative was not immediately available for comment. (Google representatives have instituted a policy of not talking with CNET News.com reporters until July 2006 in response to privacy issues raised by a previous story.)

In the latest documents, Microsoft also charges that Lee began advising Google on China recruiting and China strategy while he was still working on those issues for Microsoft.

"In early June 2005, Dr Lee engaged in active email correspondence with Google employees... regarding specific candidates that Google was considering — or candidates Dr Lee wanted them to consider — for Google's China R&D facility," Microsoft said in the filing. "Dr. Lee gave detailed feedback and Google acted on his recommendations."

The filing cites examples of Lee's work on Microsoft's China strategy, including a white paper Making it in China: strategic recommendations for Microsoft  . The software maker said it was "surprised and disappointed" to learn that Lee had forwarded an edited version of that paper to Google on June 7, while he was still a Microsoft employee. The version he sent, the Windows maker said, removed the "Microsoft Confidential" notation as well as credit to other Microsoft contributors and the chapter entitled "recommendations for Microsoft".

Microsoft also said in the filing that Lee also "advised Google on the possibility of recruiting candidates in China from Microsoft" noting that Intel and Microsoft were the best opportunity to get technological leads for projects, but that recruiting from both would be difficult. Microsoft also cites an email response Lee got from Google vice president Omid Kordestani, in which the Google executive writes that "it was nice talking to you and learning about your insights into a successful approach to Google's operations in China."