According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, Time Warner and Microsoft and resumed discussions of a possible alliance between each company"s internet units, America Online and MSN. The main focus of the discussions is the bridging of AOL"s web content and MSN"s searching ability, although not much is known about the other aspects of the talks. It is not certain if they are considering merging their dial-up internet services, which is a major revenue stream.
Individuals familiar with the discussions believe that if a deal is not struck by the end of year that it will not happen at all. Obstacles in the way include technical and control issues. Spokesmen for both companies declined to comment.