Microsoft Corp. is still interested in striking a deal with Yahoo, in order to grab bigger shares of the Internet ad market, according to CEO Steve Ballmer, Bloomberg reported.

Microsoft gave up a $47.5 billion deal for Yahoo in early May, after the Yahoo management said the offer was too low to accept. Later Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo's search business.

Acquiring Yahoo could undoubtedly help Microsoft challenge Google's dominance of the Internet ad market, Bloomberg reported.

“The fundamental driver for us is we're looking to accelerate our move to get scale in online advertising,” said Ballmer Tuesday during a speech in Washington.

Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang is facing increasing pressure from shareholders, who ask him to sell the company or step aside. Well-known investor Carl Icahn told the Wall Street Journal that he will seek to oust Yang if he wins control of the board.

Prior to the Microsoft offer, Yahoo had experienced profit drops in eight straight quarters, after losing online search traffic to Google. Microsoft had strived to close the gap with Google by acquiring Yahoo, which would almost triple its market share in U.S. online searches, according to Bloomberg.

“Software technology and the scale of user interaction will be an important part of the way the media and advertising business shakes out in the future,” said Ballmer at a dinner hosted by a technology trade group.