News Corp. chairman and chief executive Rupert Murdoch on Wednesday said he expected to work out, "within weeks," whether to buy companies offering internet search and voice over IP service or establish some sort of partnership with such companies, writes the Financial Times. The two areas are thus far gaps in News Corp's recent internet acquisition spree.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference, Murdoch said News Corp. had a "couple of companies under offer" but that the amounts involved were "peanuts." Video search company Blinkx has been rumored to have been in talks with the media conglomerate.

Murdoch said he expected free telephony to be "ubiquitous with two to three years."