Microsoft is in talks to purchase a minority stock of social-networking web site Facebook Inc. informs the Wall Street Journal.

According to people close to the issue, Microsoft approached the social networking site 'with proposals to invest in the startup that could value the fast-growing site at $10 billion or higher'. If things turned positive, Microsoft could acquire stock of upto 5% in the closely held startup, for a sum of $300 million-$500 million.

Apparently, the reason for Microsoft's interest in the social networking website is because 'the company is expected to give increasing oversight of its Internet operations to Brian McAndrews, an advertising executive who joined Microsoft just last month through its $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive Inc., an online-advertising specialist that is also part of Microsoft's strategic push. His broad mission will be to increase the number of advertisers that buy ads through Microsoft's system and Web publishers that tap into it for ads to run on their sites."

The part where it gets interesting is that, people close to the subject say Google Inc too has been interested in purchasing Facebook.

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