It’s hard to determine what’s more surprising about Microsoft Corp.’s investment in Facebook Inc. — the appraisal that valued a 3 1/2-year-old Internet hangout at $15 billion or the rare snub of online search leader Google Inc.The $240 million price Microsoft paid for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook demonstrates just how badly the world’s largest software maker wanted to deepen its relationship with a startup that doesn’t even have $200 million in annual revenue.

By sealing the deal Wednesday, Microsoft finally trumped Google after losing previous high-stakes bidding battles involving a stake in AOL and ownership of online video sharing pioneer YouTube and Internet ad service DoubleClick Inc.

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