In one of the strangest media bedfellows scenarios advanced to date,
The Wall Street Journal Wednesday reported that Google and Comcast may align to make a joint bid to acquire America Online
from Time Warner. The speculation follows an earlier report by the
New York Post that Microsoft has been in talks with Time Warner about buying a stake in AOL and combining it with its MSN
online service. None of the reports noted that Microsoft already controls a 7.4 percent stake in Comcast. On Wednesday, Microsoft also announced a deal with Yahoo! to make MSN's instant messaging
service compatible with Yahoo!'s. Time Warner CEO Ricahrd Parsons Thursday described both reports as "market rumors." -- Joe Mandese
