Google and AOL? WHY?? To me, this is silly. AOL is too tarnished and frankly, has different business practices than the search engine giant. The very idea of Google having a stake in them seems foreign to me.

Under the deal, Google would pay $1bn (£565m) for a 5% stake in AOL, the Wall Street Journal website has reported. The two firms have declined to comment.

Time Warner has been seeking a partner to boost AOL’s value, which would in turn lift the US media giant’s shares.

Any deal between the two sides would freeze out Microsoft, once considered the front-runner for a deal with AOL.

Yahoo had also been in talks with Time Warner but dropped out in November, reportedly because the media giant wanted to retain a majority stake in AOL. [Read the rest]