IN BRIEF (Page 17)

Major media tie-up?

Microsoft Corp has had talks with News Corp about a tie up, which would involve News Corp getting paid to take its news websites off Google Inc, a source familiar with the matter said.

News Corp, which owns such papers as the Wall Street Journal and the Sun, started the discussions, which were at an early stage, the source said. Microsoft could not reached for comment. News Corp declined to comment. The source is anonymous because the talks are not public.