SQL Server *= operator

I came across some code with this `*=` operator in a `WHERE` clause and I have only found one thing that described it as some sort of join operator for Sybase DB. It didn't really seem to apply. I thought it was some sort of bitwise thing (which I do not know much about) but it isn't contained in this reference at all. When I change it to a normal `=` operator it doesn't change the result set at all. The exact query looks like this: ``` select distinct table1.char8_column1, table1.char8_column2, table2.char8_column3, table2.smallint_column from table1, table2 where table1.char8_column1 *= table2.another_char8_column ``` Does anyone know of a reference for this or can shed some light on it? This is in SQL Server 2000.