Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, is poised to make an aggressive move for a share in the internet goldrush with a plan to offer web services from his network of satellite operations based around the globe.
Mr Murdoch, whose media empire includes the Times and the Hollywood studio that made the film Titanic, is planning to bundle his disparate satellite television assets into a single company with its own listing on the stock market.
City analysts see the restructuring of Mr Murdoch's business as a means of attracting internet partners, such as Yahoo, which could use the network as a way into hundreds of millions of homes. Most analysts expect the chief route for internet access to migrate from the personal computer to the more ubiquitous TVs and mobile phones in the not too distant future.
The assets which will be injected into the new business are made up of 40% of BSkyB in Britain, the whole ownership of pan-Asian network Star TV, and minority stakes in Japan Sky Broadcasting, Italy's Stream, Sky Latin America, Germany's Premiere and Foxtel in Australia. It could be worth more than £20bn.
News Corp has come under criticism for being too slow in moving into the internet market and appeared to have been caught out by the merger in January of its old media rival, Time Warner, with the internet upstart America Online.
Mr Murdoch seems to be betting on satellite as a way of connecting to the internet which can rival "broadband" cable - a system that can handle large amounts of traffic - despite concerns over its ability to cope with two-way traffic such as e-commerce.
A statement from News Corp said the plan, which could see the parent company hanging on to 60% of the satellite business, was "under serious consideration".
A company spokesman added: "This float would create a worldwide digital platform. It would mean the distribution of TV, audio, video and data on a global basis."
He admitted that the announcement of the America Online and Time Warner merger had "given renewed vigour" to the plans but said the group had been working on the project before the deal was disclosed.
In the past 12 months, Mr Murdoch has found himself increasingly taken up with possibilities with the internet. News Corp has set up e-partners and a venture capital fund to invest in web start-ups.
Recently he also met executives of Nokia to discuss means of adapting News Corp content for internet-enabled mobile phones. And he has taken a stake in an Australian mobile phone network which is among the bidders for a licence in the generation of phones in Britain which will receive high-speed internet access and video clips.
The Murdoch media empire, which also includes 20th Century Fox, the film business behind Titanic, the television production house which makes the X-Files, and Harper Collins books, last week poured cold water on suggestions that it may seek a merger partner among the new breed of internet companies.
Media analysts said the latest Murdoch move had merit. One commented: "A lot of internet companies are truly global businesses and to have a more integrated strategy for News Corp's pay-TV assets has a pretty compelling commercial logic.
"This is evidence of Mr Murdoch trying to regroup and get the best out of his resources. News Corp are trying to get back on the front foot and whenever Mr Murdoch puts his mind to something he tends to be fairly committed."
BSkyB chief executive Tony Ball was said to have been astonished by the lack of any clear internet strategy when he arrived last year. He has since announced plans to plough £250m into the development of online businesses using Sky brands.
Although satellite systems can be used to send high "bandwidth" applications, including internet access, the reply from the consumer needs to be sent through fixed telephone wires or cable.
BSkyB last week announced a venture with Hull-based telecoms company Kingston Communications to deploy a technology which upgrades existing copper wires for high bandwidth use without digging up roads.
