New York: Microsoft's board has given company CEO Steve Ballmer broad authority to decide on how to proceed with the takeover attempt of Yahoo!, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The board held a protracted meeting Wednesday but failed to decide whether to sweeten its unsolicited bid for Yahoo!, walk away from the deal or pursue a hostile takeover deal, the report said.

Microsoft had given the web portal until Saturday to accept its $41.9 billion offer but the deadline passed with no further comment from Yahoo!, which had originally dismissed the bid as undervaluing the company.

Microsoft's board emerged from the Wednesday meeting without reaching a decision, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Microsoft previously said it would reveal its response to Yahoo!'s latest snub before the end of the week.

Microsoft has insisted that its offer which represents a 62-percent mark up on Yahoo!'s pre-offer price was "fair and generous". But Microsoft privately has indicated it might be willing to boost its offer to as much as $33 per share, up from the bid's initial value of $31 per share, the Journal reported Wednesday.

Microsoft sees Yahoo! as a key asset in its bid to see off a challenge from Google to become the world's leading software company. If the deal goes through it would easily be the largest in Microsoft's history.