This is how the world sees Google. A pleasant PR scenario for which they can thank rival Microsoft.A side effect of Google’s decision to stop censoring it’s search engine in China has been the unwanted spotlight it’s cast on Microsoft. A starring role the Redmond giant has handled with all the grace of a last-minute understudy.First, CEO Steve Ballmer was asked if Microsoft would respond to Google’s decision by uncensoring it’s Bing search engine. A question he answered by placing his foot directly into his mouth. Then today, Microsoft acknowledged that a previously unknown flaw in it’s fading web browser Internet Explorer was the open window through which Chinese hackers crawled, thus prompting the decision by Google.Which means that, if you want to get all circular on this mess, not only did Google get to don a golden halo, Microsoft was simultaneously forced to add to it a gleaming layer of polish. After, of course, they put on their own headgear of choice: a dunce cap.