MySpace Puts Search on Auction Block

News Corp. said Tuesday that it plans to call for bids from search giants Microsoft, Yahoo and Google to provide Internet search functionality and search-based advertising on the popular social networking site. The move continues an effort by the media conglomerate to look for ways to recoup some of the $580 million investment it made in the service when it bought MySpace last year.

For News Corp., the potential customer base of the site and its moneymaking potential are huge, as MySpace has some 85 million members worldwide. But compared with other sites, MySpace is far behind in ad sales. With a better partner, the company believes it would be able to improve its revenues from MySpace over time.