Microsoft Front-Runner for AOL Buy?

The latest report on the AOL suitor saga comes from the New York Times, which said Monday that Microsoft is the leading candidate to partner up with the Internet portal. The Times cited two sources who claim that joint venture discussions between Microsoft and Time Warner began a few months ago.

Nonetheless, Yahoo, Google and News Corp. are apparently still in the running and any deal is at least weeks away. Although AOL is struggling to establish itself as a leading force on the open Web, Time Warner is worried about the risk of bringing a third party to the table. One main issue is how much control the partner would have over AOL's Web properties.