A Seattle judge says he’ll decide whether to issue an order that would keep a former Microsoft vice president from going to work right away for Google. The Mountain View, California, company hired away Kai-Fu Lee to open a center in China. Microsoft says that violates a non-compete contract.

Court papers indicate Microsoft is increasingly concerned about competition from Google and the rival hiring an employee with sensitive information about Microsoft’s search technology and strategy. Lee joined Microsoft five years ago and helped establish the company’s research center in China. At one point he was in charge of work on MSN Search. Microsoft says Lee earned more than three million dollars from the company.

(Source: AP)