lated that it could be done by running the partnership as an auction-style system that would allow other rivals, including Microsoft, to show ads on Yahoo. Depending on the breadth of the partnership, Google's ad system could nearly double 2009 profit, UBS analyst Benjamin Schachter estimated in a research report released Thursday.
Google shareholders attending Thursday's meeting didn't seem to care about the implications of a potential Yahoo partnership. One shareholder, though, did ask Brin and fellow Google founder Larry Page about their recent marriages. Brin deflected the question, saying they preferred to confine the discussion to business.
In an unusual move, Brin abstained on two shareholder proposals that the company's board opposed.
One proposal sought to create a special committee on human rights to review the ramifications of the company's policies. The other asked for Google to stiffen its opposition the demands of governments in China, Burma, North Korea, Iran and other countries that seek to censor search results and other Web content.
Although he said he didn't fully support the proposals, Brin indicated he empathized with the issues they addressed. He holds a special class of Google stock that gives him 28.5 percent voting power over shareholder issues.
Both shareholder proposals were defeated, according to Google, but a breakdown of the vote won't be disclosed until later this year.
