The same day that Microsoft stole Google's Facebook thunder, Google Inc. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt announced at a news conference that its MySpace property is performing better than originally planned.

"The MySpace deal is ahead of our plans," Schmidt told reporters at the company's analyst day meeting with Wall Street investors. "The MySpace deal is looking like it is going very, very well for us," he said.

He declined to comment on details of the deal, and whether the arrangement to provide advertising alongside tens of millions of MySpace member profiles had turned profitable for Google yet.

Google executives also promised acceleration in the recent efficiency gains seen in its search advertising system, reports the Financial Times, and touted the opportunities ahead for Gmail and Google Docs.