Toshiba president Taizo Nishimuro, speaking in Santa Barbara, California, said he would meet AOL chairman Steve Case for talks as early as April.The discussions would centre on Toshiba's possible delivery of content from AOL and Time Warner to Japan via the Internet, a Toshiba spokesman said.Toshiba holds a 0.2-per cent stake in Time Warner and is clearly looking to benefit from its recent blockbuster merger with AOL, analysts said.

Possible services to be discussed could include distribution of content such as music titles provided by Time Warner and to be distributed via satellite-based digital data broadcasts, which are to be launched in Japan later this year, the spokesman said.

He cited distribution of Time Warner films on Titus Communications Corp's cable television channels as one possible area for cooperation, but said details have not been decided. Toshiba owns a stake in Tokyo-based Titus Communications, one of the few Japanese operators of broadband networks.Nishimuro said last week he planned to reinforce alliances with existing partners such as Time Warner and Warner-EMI

Toshiba, criticised for lagging behind rivals Sony Corp, Fujitsu Ltd, Hitachi Ltd and NEC Corp, in presenting a clear Internet strategy, said last week it was ready to inject 250 billion yen ($2.26 billion) into e-commerce and Internet content businesses over the next three years.

News of Toshiba's new Internet-based assault ended speculation on how Toshiba would position itself in the fast-growing segment of the economy, and boosted its stock.

The share rose 5.6 per cent last Monday when the Internet strategy was revealed and another 4.4 per cent the following day, to 965 yen, making it the most active stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section.

Its share was trading at 913 yen, down 3.79 per cent or 36 yen, in afternoon trade on Monday.

Fujitsu and NEC, both of which own large Internet service providers, are considered two of Japan's leading Internet-related shares, while Sony with its large stock of films, games and other content and a clear network strategy, has become one of the stock market's most popular issues.

But Toshiba, one of the world's biggest notebook personal computer makers and strong in manufacturing of advanced parts, has fallen behind as Japan as raced to embrace the Internet in recent months.