Microsoft's Ballmer vows to 'kill' Google

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, threatened to "kill" Google and "bury" its chief executive during a foul-mouthed tirade against the internet search engine giant, according to court documents.

An intense rivalry has developed between Microsoft and Google and has grown explosively to have a market value of $80bn (£44bn).

Ballmer's alleged threats are detailed in a sworn statement by Mark Lucovsky, a former Microsoft engineer, who met the Microsoft chief executive in November to discuss his intention to defect to Google.

The documents say that when he became aware of Lucovsky's plan to move to Google, Ballmer roared: "F**king Eric Schmidt [Google's chief executive] is a f***ing p****. I'm going to f***ing bury that guy. I have done it before, I will do it again. I'm going to f****ing kill Google."

Lucovsky's statement said that Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room, hitting a table in the office.

Ballmer yesterday dismissed Lucovsky's version of the events as "a gross exaggeration of what took place". He said the engineer's decision to leave Microsoft was "disappointing". "I urged him strongly to change his mind," Ballmer said. "His characterisation of that meeting is not accurate."

Google is trying to demonstrate that Microsoft is pursuing a vendetta against it. Lucovsky's statement is part of Google's case in a courtroom battle over the recruitment by the search engine giant of Kai-Fu Lee, a former Microsoft executive, in early May.

Microsoft is suing Google to stop Lee from leading his new employer's expansion into the rapidly growing Chinese market. Microsoft maintains that these duties would violate a "non-compete agreement" that Lee signed when he joined the computer giant in 1998.