No ongoing talks for MySpace sale

NEW YORK, USA: News Corp is still considering a sale of its social networking site MySpace but a person familiar with the matter told Reuters there are no talks currently with potential buyers.

CNBC business television reported on Monday that News Corp is on course to sell MySpace by mid-2011, citing sources.

The Los Angeles-based company will also lay off more than half of its staff as management seeks to accelerate a turn-around for the loss-making company, the person said confirming earlier reports by All Things Digital and CNBC.

A MySpace spokeswoman declined to comment.

Reuters reported in November that News Corp was open to a sale of MySpace after its relaunch as an entertainment site.

A successful revamp of the site -- still visited by around 60 million people a month -- was seen as possibly paving the way for a sale.

News Corp Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey told investors on a conference call in November that MySpace had "quarters" rather than years to turn around its fortunes.

MySpace, once one of the fastest growing sites on the Web, has fallen behind its much larger rival Facebook which is visited by about 150 million people monthly.