It is natural that Yahoo should try to squeeze a better offer out of its unwanted suitor, Microsoft. But plans to help the internet giant fend off the bid smack of desperation.

The gist of the plan seems to be that News Corporation would inject its online properties, including social networking site MySpace, and some cash into Yahoo in return for a stake of about 20 per cent. Depending on the valuation attributed to MySpace, it looks like a great idea for News Corp, which would gain a powerful stake in the second most important property on the web.