Mountain View, Calif. - In the absence of any official opposition from regulators, Google (NASD: GOOG) plans to go ahead with its proposed search advertising deal with Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) less than a month from now, CNET News.com reported, citing statements by Google CEO Eric Schmidt in a meeting with reporters at its headquarters.

"My understanding is that because it's a commercial deal, we have a choice of when we implement it. We voluntarily delayed it so the government could take a look at it," CNET reported Schmidt as saying.

Last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Dept. had hired antitrust expert Sanford Litvack to head a possible challenge to the deal.

No fewer than five Congressional committees as of June said they would be examining the deal as well.

The Google-Yahoo ad tie-up has also been opposed by the 400-member Association of National Advertisers.

Should Google executive the deal with Yahoo, regulators could still step in and voice objections after the fact, CNET noted.

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