There is a lot of hype surrounding the Justice Department’s upcoming decision on the advertising pact between Google and Yahoo. Both companies agreed in June, when they reached the agreement, to put a hold on their plans in order for the authorities to review the deal and approve its terms.

Many believe that the deal will not be approved in its present form and the Justice Department, if the decision will be positive, will demand certain changes.

Over the past few months, ever since the partnership was announced, the Association of National Advertisers has been releasing warnings about the implications of such a deal, which is very likely to raise prices and limit choice. The ANA represents more than 400 companies from the advertising community and the thoughts of its officials regarding various issues have a significant weight. Google and Yahoo addressed ANA’s claims, saying that the agreement offers advertisers a new opportunity to bid for placement on an additional network and also underlined the fact that they will continue to compete against each other for the online ad sales.

The deal presents great implications, which even though the two companies involved do not want to admit, are without a doubt present. "We conclude that important competition issues are raised by this transaction," Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, wrote in a letter to the Justice Department. "Should the amount of advertising outsourced by Yahoo to Google grow significantly, we believe the threat to competition will also increase." He added that many competitors, advertisers and industry experts are extremely concerned about Google’s potential to dominate the search advertising market.

A newly launched Web site, maintained by Google, presents the latest news about the deal and also links to stories about the partnership. The company wrote: "This agreement - unlike Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo - means that Yahoo will remain an independent company in the business of search and advertising," also adding that Yahoo announced its intentions to use the money from this deal to improve its services in order to ensure a tighter competition with Google, Microsoft and the rest of the market’s players. "We believe that this arrangement is good for competition and will benefit advertisers, Web site publishers and consumers," especially by enabling the two companies to deliver viewers more relevant targeted ads.

Still, the deal will provide Yahoo with Google’s advertising services, which will be added to Yahoo’s Web search system. The two companies hold a combined 80 percent of the total search market, which might be taken even higher over the next several months.

The predictions go both ways, with many looking at the deal as a positive and necessary step and other considering it the beginning of the end. The deal is still being closely examined in order to make sure that it indeed promotes and not hinder competition. Hopefully these forecasts will take into consideration all the aspects and the final decision will put the users first.