US media giant Time Warner Inc. announced its plans Today to part ways with its AOL division by the end of the year, according to dpa. Chief executive Jeff Bewkes said that the separation posed a further "important step" in reshaping the Time Warner company. A Time Warner statement said that once the proposed separation was completed, "AOL will compete as a stand-alone company ... AOL will also continue to operate one of the largest Internet access subscription services in the US." Time Warner and AOL entered their mega-merger in the year 2000. The splitoff from AOL still needs to be approved by the board and by industry regulators.
