Yahoo, AOL May Merge; Murdoch-Microsoft In Talks

Two groundbreaking Internet deals are in the works, both related to Microsoft's desire to take over Yahoo, the Wall Street Journal reports. In one, Yahoo is considering combining its online operations with Time Warner's AOL. In the other, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in talks to join Microsoft in its bid to acquire Yahoo. 

The latter deal would create an online giant that combines Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN, and Murdoch's MySpace, the New York Times notes. A Yahoo-AOL merger, on the other hand, would create one of the largest websites on the Internet. Time Warner, AOL's parent company, would make a cash investment and take a 20% stake in the new enterprise. If nothing else, the talks could give Yahoo leverage in its Microsoft negotiations, the Journal notes. (More Microsoft stories.)