Microsoft, which made its online advertising ambitions clear with the $6 billion purchase of aQuantive in August, now says it has a plan to be one of the top two firms in the industry within the next three to five years.

According to a Reuters report, Kevin Johnson, Microsoft's president of platforms and services, unveiled the company's strategy to become a leader in online advertising. Johnson told attendees at the UBS investor conference that Microsoft will look to expand its share of search from 10 to 30 percent of the market, increasing its share of total page views and its percent of time spent online.

"If you look at the landscape of other competitors or other companies in this area, not only do we have the technology, research and development capability to deploy, but (we have) our willingness to invest for the long term," Johnson said.

In recent weeks, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tried to make the case that Microsoft does not lag as far behind Google as many people think, saying that Google's only real lead is in search. Ironically, Ballmer also has gotten a lot of notoriety of late, though not where he likely would have wanted it. The CEO has become something of a YouTube hit in a video titled "Steve Ballmer Going Crazy." In the video Ballmer proclaims his love for all things Microsoft.