Microsoft: MSN is not for sale

Rumors ran rampant at some of the less scrupulous computer news sites (youknow, ZDNet, news.com, all the usual suspects) that Microsoft was trying tooffload the Microsoft Network (MSN) and its two million customers to AT&T.These sites quoted sources "close to both parties" who stated that eitherthe talks had recently broken off or that they are still ongoing.

It ain't so, according to Microsoft. The company felt it needed to publiclyrespond to these rumors and spokesperson Marty Taucher says that none of itis true: None of MSN is up for sale, nor has it ever been. In fact, Tauchersays that Microsoft is pouring millions of dollars into the number two ISPwhile it beefs up marketing and infrastructure (coincidentally, I happenedto catch an MSN advertisement on TV earlier today). Microsoft will spendover $100 million marketing MSN this year, Taucher says.

MSN includes an online service with two million users, the wildly popularHotMail email service, and Web communities such as Slate, CarPoint, and Expedia.