REDMOND, WASHINGTON (BNO NEWS) — Microsoft and Yahoo! on Thursday announced that they have received clearance for their Web ad search agreement, without restrictions, from both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission. The companies will now start the process of implementing the deal.

The 10-year Web search deal, which was announced in July 2009 and will combine Microsoft’s Bing search engine with Yahoo’s experience attracting advertisers, will challenge market leader Google.

The implementation of the deal is expected to begin in the coming days and will involve transitioning Yahoo!’s algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft, with Yahoo! becoming the exclusive relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers globally.

Once the transition is completed, the companies said, the unified search marketplace will deliver improved innovation for consumers, better volume and efficiency for advertisers and better monetization opportunities for web publishers through a platform that contains a larger pool of search queries.

“This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo! can focus even more on our own innovative search experience,” said Yahoo! Chief Executive Officer Carol Bartz. “Yahoo! gets to do what we do best: combine our science and technology with compelling content to build personally relevant online experiences for our users and customers.”