Taking the offensive in the bitter proxy war, Yahoo Inc. on Monday portrayed Microsoft Corp. as an "inconsistent" negotiator that did not appear to be fully committed to a marriage.

A detailed timeline of the negotiations also provides Yahoo's version of the tit-for-tat exchange over price. According to Yahoo, in late April -- about three months after Microsoft unveiled its offer and shortly after the company's three-week deadline -- the Web portal sent a private letter to Microsoft saying it was open to a deal, but not at the original $31 a share price.

On May 2, Yahoo said, Microsoft "orally" said that it was willing to go up to $33 and a "Microsoft representative" told "Yahoo representatives not to come back at $38."

The following day, the companies met to discuss price. Yahoo then proposed $37 but Microsoft withdrew its proposal "within hours" after the meeting.

Yahoo's account is designed to boost its previous argument that it was in the process of bargaining for a better deal when Microsoft suddenly pulled out, contradicting the claim of critics who said that the board played hard to get and was insincere in negotiations.

Negotiations over a "hybrid" deal, in which Microsoft would acquire Yahoo's search business and invest in the company, later collapsed. Yahoo claimed the arrangement would have chained it to Microsoft and not provided any significant benefit to its shareholders. Microsoft said the hybrid deal would have "delivered in excess of $33 a share" to Yahoo shareholders.