Microsoft’s $50 billion business portfolio already has its superstars like Office and Windows. But now add a basketball prodigy to that list. Don’t worry LeBron - the software giant isn’t developing some NBA-ready cyborg. It’s building an Internet search business. Confused?

At the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer answered questions about which of his children (read: businesses) he liked best. Ballmer dodged that question, but host John Battelle followed up with whether Microsoft needed to hand out some tough love to its Web search business, which trails Google and Yahoo after entering the market years after its competitors.

Ballmer, who can be exuberant , delivered this analogy.

“Absolutely not. I would say, ‘hey you are just three years old and we’ve got you in basketball, playing basketball with the 12-year-olds. You’re small and quick and you’re getting better every day and you’ve got all the talent in the world. We’re going to continue until you’re six, you’re seven, you’re eight, you’re nine or you’re 10, but you’re going to dunk. You’re going to dunk on the other guy someday, Johnny!”

His voice and tempo picked up pace as he spoke. By the end, he was shaking in his seat with excitement and his face was a shade of burgundy. He stopped and said, “what were we talking about?”

Without missing a beat, Battelle said, “I thought we were talking about the Zune .”