UPDATED 06:12 EST / AUGUST 12 2015

NEWS

WTF: Is Microsoft mocking Google’s Alphabet?

Google, Inc. recently announced a restructure in which the company’s many divisions will now all fall under one parent company called Alphabet, Inc. In time with the announcement of Alphabet a new website appeared via the URL abc.xyz, which brings you to its new site and currently a rundown of Alphabet’s mission.

But it seems Microsoft, or a third party, is having its own fun with the alphabet. Try typing abc.wtf in the URL and you are taken to the Bing homepage, or even more cheekily abc.fail will take you to the Bing search page as well.

Reports say that Microsoft has not claimed any responsibility, although it looks like the domain was registered to an IP location that belongs to Microsoft. Was this a rogue employee having some fun, or Microsoft just bashing Google as it had done in the past with the 2013 Scroogled campaign? The domain abc.fail however doesn’t lead back to Redmond; the domain it’s been found was registered from an IP located in Starnberg, Germany.

Microsoft has denied having any part in the shenanigans stating to the website Search Engine Land, “Microsoft did not buy this domain and is not involved in the redirect to bing.com.” When in a follow-up Microsoft was asked if one its employees could have been involved seeing as the trail leads back to Redmond no response was proffered.

Whoever done it, it seems to have caused a lot of Lolling around the internet, or should we say HaHa-ing.

Photo credit: trochim via Flickr

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