Google and Microsoft Corp have ended their legal wrangling over the defection of Taiwan-born researcher Lee Kai-fu to the search engine firm in July that at times degenerated into a bitter public spat between the two technology giants. A terse statement from Google released Thursday said the two firms had entered into 'a private agreement that resolves all issues to their mutual satisfaction'. It added that 'all parties have agreed to make no further statements to the media'. An even shorter statement from Microsoft said: 'Microsoft is pleased with the terms of the settlement.' Microsoft sued Mr Lee and Google in Washington's King County Superior Court in July, claiming his recruitment to build and head Google's China research and development centre violated the one-year non-compete clause he signed as a Microsoft employee. The court imposed a preliminary injunction in September restricting the kind of work Mr Lee can do for Google, including his areas of specialty in search and speech processing technologies, pending a full trial on January 9. Google countersued Microsoft in California to prevent it from enforcing the non-compete clause. It is not clear to what extent the restrictions on Mr Lee have been lifted following the settlement between the two firms. He is employed as Google China's president for engineering, product and public affairs. But it is not surprising that both sides chose to settle rather than go through another trial and the inevitable media spotlight. September's hearing revealed details of the hostile relations between the two firms and their fierce rivalry in the search engine and software space far more than that which either side was comfortable. Court documents included allegations of chair-throwing and expletives from Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, as well as assertions from Bill Gates that his company had been 'f*****' by the Chinese. Microsoft also released an internal e-mail from a Google executive suggesting the search engine firm pursued Mr Lee 'like wolves' while he was still a Microsoft employee, including offering a US$10 million compensation package. Google documents revealed the firm's China strategy since the opening of its research facility in Beijing, including improving its Chinese-language search results, MP3 search and mobility as key areas of development to close the gap with mainland rivals. Microsoft had previously offered to settle the case immediately following the preliminary injunction imposed on Mr Lee. 'We can settle this lawsuit tomorrow if Google will agree to take [the] preliminary injunction, keep every word without a single change and enter it as a permanent injunction that will last until July 18, 2006,' said Microsoft's general counsel Brad Smith.