Microsoft to buy Vivendi: Hoax news

LOS ANGELES: Microsoft Corp. and news network CNN said they were hit by a hoax on Monday after a faked web page erroneously reported the software giant had agreed to buy the video game operations of French conglomerate Vivendi Universal. V.N

The hoax Web site, which Purdue University in Indiana confirmed came from its Internet address, was designed to look like a CNN report and circulated on the Web among video game industry watchers on Monday.

It was not immediately clear what the student's motivation was.

"Any purported press release or news story appearing on a website is a hoax," Microsoft said.

The site was taken down just before 4 p.m. EST, a Purdue university spokeswoman said.

The student who put up the site was identified and referred to the university's dean of students for possible disciplinary action, the spokeswoman said. It was unclear if Microsoft or CNN would press charges or take any other legal action.

"CNN has not reported this story and as a matter of company policy we don't discuss legal matters," a CNN spokeswoman told Reuters.

The page, which carried ads and had working links to actual CNN pages, appeared to closely imitate the online style of the news network and even included a photo of Microsoft executives with a fake caption.

A spokeswoman for Vivendi Universal in New York also said that the report was a fabrication.

Vivendi sources have in the past acknowledged that the company is considering the sale of its game unit, and people familiar with the situation have said Microsoft would be among the potential buyers.

Shares in both companies were up for the day and ahead of the broad market, with Vivendi 2.8 percent higher at $17.38 and Microsoft up 2.3 percent at $48.56 on Nasdaq.

© Reuters