"The combination of these two companies has the potential to be the next powerhouse" among Internet equipment companies, says Ron Westfall, an analyst with market researcher Current Analysis.
However, not everybody inside the administration has such warm feelings towards the Californian internet powerhouse.
Yahoo's 18-year-old Web site is an Internet powerhouse in e-mail and news of all kinds.
Since then, Alibaba has grown into a Chinese Internet powerhouse, with an array of fast-growing units, including a business-to-business Web site called Alibaba.com.
The bank already owns Credit Suisse First Boston, an investment banking unit that has become a powerhouse in underwriting Internet companies and other technology stocks in the last few years.
"This is about creating an Internet powerhouse in Asia, with its roots in Hong Kong," said a senior Pacific Century executive, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Having seen how South Korea has turned itself into an Internet powerhouse, broadband advocates say that the United States risks losing out by not moving faster.
Google has become a powerhouse on the Internet by helping publishers offer Web advertising space, as well as by selling search-related ads, which appear as "sponsored links" alongside the so-called natural search results.
The Mountain View, California-based Google has drawn increasing scrutiny from US and European regulators as it has grown over the years from a scrappy Silicon Valley startup into an Internet powerhouse.
