San Francisco  - Talks between Yahoo and Microsoft appear to have resumed but there was widespread confusion Tuesday about whether the companies are trying to resurrect a buyout deal, or are focused on a more limited pact that could see Microsoft buy Yahoo's search business for an estimated 1 billion dollars.

Quoting multiple sources from both companies, the influential tech blog TechCrunch said the companies had resurrected the full buyout talks but that Microsoft was offering less than the 33 dollars per share that Yahoo rejected when talks broke down in early May.

Since then the company's board has come in for sharp criticism for rejecting a deal and is now facing a shareholder revolt led by activist investor Carl Icahn, who is hoping to resurrect the Microsoft talks.

However, other media sources disputed the TechCrunch account, quoting a source as saying that Microsoft remains open to a deal involving Yahoo's search operations and that connections between the two companies could lead to agreements. (dpa)