The US Congress Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next week to scrutinize Microsoft's multi-billion-dollar bid to acquire Yahoo in order to take on Internet goliath Google. Leading members of the committee scheduled a February 8 hearing after Microsoft's announced it is courting California-based Yahoo with a 44.6-billion-dollar offer.

"Microsoft's bid to acquire Yahoo is certainly one of the largest technology mergers we've seen and presents important issues regarding the competitive landscape of the Internet," Congressmen John Conyers and Lamar Smith said in a written statement.

"The Committee will hear from experts who will weigh in on whether this proposed consolidation works to further or undermine the fundamental principles of a competitive Internet." Yahoo has yet to say whether it will accept the offer, but analysts believe it is too good a deal for the struggling Internet veteran to refuse and that US regulators are unlikely to find grounds to stop it.