MSN and AOL to merge?

Microsoft and Time Warner have resumed talks over a potential merger, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper reports the two are considering a possible union of AOL and MSN, citing "people familiar with the situation".

Initial speculation about Microsoft's involvement with AOL first surfaced last month, when Redmond was rumoured to be keen to buy a stake in Time Warner's online arm.

The two are now discussing how to combine MSN's search with AOL's content business. Further details on the talks are unclear, however, with the WSJ speculating that one outcome on the table is a merger of the pair's dial-up ISP operations.

The talks have a short shelf-life, however. A source quoted in the paper said: "If you can't get it done in calendar year 2005, then it's probably not going to happen."