The CEO of Google has reportedly stepped down from his position on the board of directors of Apple Inc. due to a conflict of interest. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the announcement was made Monday that the companys Chief Executive Eric Schmidt would sever ties with Apple following the beginning of a probe into whether their relationship violated antitrust regulations, as well as an inquiry by the FCC pertaining to why Apple recently rejected Googles offering of Google Voice as an application for the iPhone.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is quoted by the AP as releasing the statement Monday, Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apples core businesses.Erics effectiveness as an Apple board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest.