MySpace is in talks with Google and Microsoft to form a search-based partnership to take advantage of the site's rapidly growing audience (nearly 80 million registered users) and influence, reports the Financial Times (via Search Engine Lowdown), citing sources familiar with the talks. News Corp.'s social-networking site is seeking an alliance that would have one of the search giants provide search services for the site as well as serve up advertising. Yahoo is apparently sitting this one out.

Such deals usually involve a sharing of online advertising revenues, with the majority going to the website that provides the audience. The reported rivalry over MySpace seems an echo of last year's courting of AOL by Google and Microsoft. Google came out on top after it agreed to invest $1 billion in AOL.

Rough Type's Nick Carr points out (via Search Engine Lowdown): "Google's and Microsoft's CEOs have both recently talked about the importance of social networking sites to the future of the web. It's hard to imagine either of these two bitter competitors ceding the sexy MySpace real estate to the other without a fight. So look for MySpace to get a deal that gives it the lion's share of any ad revenues as well as, if it's smart, either a cash payment upfront or some kind of guaranteed minimum payment."