One NBC Universal property not mentioned specifically in this morning's Comcast-GE announcement was msnbc.com, the company's online partnership with Microsoft. But under the proposed Comcast-GE deal, Comcast would control a new joint venture that would include its cable networks and NBC Universal's businesses.

I followed up with Microsoft this morning to find out the specific implications of the Comcast-GE announcement for msnbc.com, and the company referred me to an NBC Universal representative. I'll update this post depending on the response.

Unless there's an unexpected twist, the deal would put Microsoft and Comcast in business together, via msnbc.com -- potentially giving new life to a corporate relationship that appeared to have fizzled out. Microsoft in January sold its remaining 7.3 percent stake in Comcast, ending a relationship that had started with the Redmond company's landmark $1 billion investment in the cable company in 1997.

Granted, the corporate link via msnbc.com would not be the most direct connection, but it will be interesting to see if Microsoft and Comcast ultimately seize the opportunity to work more closely on other projects. It wouldn't be a surprise to see, given the large footprint of both companies, and Microsoft's interest in claiming a bigger piece of the living room via Windows, the Xbox 360 and its Mediaroom IPTV initiative.

Charlie Tillinghast, the president and publisher of msnbc.com, made it clear in a conversation at a recent MIT Enterprise Forum event that he didn't anticipate the then-rumored Comcast-GE deal changing much for msnbc.com or for Microsoft's interest in the joint venture. Tillinghast noted on stage during the forum that msnbc.com remains a profitable business.

Microsoft and NBC were also partners initially in the MSNBC cable channel, but the Redmond company divested its stake in that separate joint venture starting in 2006.