Amorous negotiators from Microsoft are trying to make up for their on again, off again, partnership with Yahoo, by signing a deal with Time Warner's AOL.

If the first date works, then it might give Redmond something to play with other than having to cavort with Yahoo. AOL has been in flirting with both Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google which spent a billion to buy a five percent stake in the outfit.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft-AOL discussions remained preliminary and the pair were not even holding hands yet. Time Warner is already working on splitting AOL's advertising and access operations, which would make the sale of one or both easier.

More here.