Yang, 39, has promised that Yahoo's development of a more sophisticated and far-flung Internet advertising platform will produce net revenue growth of at least 25 percent in 2009 and 2010. That would be a dramatic improvement, considering that Yahoo's revenue rose by 12 percent last year and is expected to grow at about the same pace this year.

　　But analysts are skeptical about whether Yahoo will be able to hit those targets, raising the chances for a shareholder rebellion if the company stumbles during the next few months — a distinct possibility if advertisers curtail spending in a shaky US economy, as many analysts fear.

　　As it is, Yang and the rest of Yahoo's board almost certainly will face more lawsuits from incensed shareholders.

　　Even some of Yahoo's own employees may be irritated because virtually all of them own stock options.

　　What's more, Microsoft had planned to offer $1.5 billion in retention packages to the thousands of Yahoo employees it wanted to stay on after a takeover.