Data from web research firm StatCounter confirms what other surveys have shown–Microsoft’s (MSFT) new search engine Bing is gaining ground on Yahoo! which will undermine that portal’s turnaround effort.

For June, StatCounter shows 8.23%, up a percentage point, compared to Yahoo! at 11.04%

Yahoo! will have made a huge blunder by not merging its search services with Microsoft if Bing continues to pick up users. Yahoo! needs it search business to enhance its revenue, particularly because display advertising is down so much this year and does not appear to be recovering.

New Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz has indicated that the company does not need a deal with Microsoft to do well and she has rejected overture from Redmond. Bing may turn out to be her Waterloo.

Douglas A. McIntyre