Software Empire Microsoft, upon whom the sun never sets, is having another crack at snapping up Yahoo's online search operations with the help of News Corp. and Time Warner.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the chances of a deal getting done are remote, but it is just another chapter in this strange story. Microsoft is trying to recruit News Corp., Time Warner's AOL or other media partners to put together a joint bid that would slice Yahoo into the bits they want.

Ballmer's boys would get Yahoo's online search operations, while the others would get the non-search bits they wanted. Apparently, Microsoft's CEO, Steve Ballmer, had hoped to pitch his latest breakup proposal to Yahoo in a meeting on Monday, but cancelled for unexplained reasons.