An otherwise routine June 18 hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee is taking on a new meaning with the June 12 advertising agreement between Google and Yahoo. The panel's topic is "Privacy Implications of Online Advertising," but lawmakers are sure to plunge into the details of the proposed deal.

With that hearing already set, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., chairman of the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee, rushed to assure voters his own panel would be scrutinizing the deal.

"We will closely examine the joint venture between Google and Yahoo," Kohl said in a June 12 statement. "This collaboration between two technology giants and direct competitors for Internet advertising and search services raises important competition concerns."

If ultimately approved by federal regulators, the deal would combine the world's two most popular search engines.

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