It looks as if the search engine king (Google), the company formally known as the search engine king (Yahoo), as well as the wannabe search engine king (Microsoft) have all banded together to form a “code of ethics” of how to operate an internet company within an oppressive regime.

(PC World) Microsoft, Google, and two other technology companies will develop a code of conduct with a coalition of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to promote freedom of expression and privacy rights, they announced Friday.

The two companies along with Yahoo, and Vodafone said the new guidelines are the result of talks with Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

This comes as good news for bloggers as both Microsoft and Yahoo! have previously sold out their users in order maintain their places in China’s backyard.

Although the article does not state on how Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Vodafone will keep each other accountable beyond the honor system, this is a good first step towards insuring that our personal information won’t be handed over to a government official because of offense over a comment regarding certain policies.