In a world where flashy marketing campaigns and corporate mission statements dominate, Microsoft's ethical standards could outshine its rivals.

Microsoft's ethical leadership was recognized in Ethisphere's 2011 Most Ethical Companies study -- along with Adobe, Ebay and T-Mobile -- and outperformed Google, which wasn't ranked.

"Google, whose “don’t be evil” motto and highly visible social good activities give the company a friendly public face, wasn’t on the list; the company was present on the list in 2010, 2009, 2008 but has since dropped off for reasons unstated by Ethisphere."

Read the Mashable.com story.