The state-owned Chinese partner of MSN, Microsoft's online services group, wants to sell its holdings in the China-based joint venture, state press reported Tuesday.

Shanghai Alliance Investment, which established the Shanghai MSN Network Communications joint venture with Microsoft in May 2005, is looking for buyers of its stake, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

"Alliance Investment started to approach potential buyers last month," the report said, citing a source close to Alliance Investment.

Both parties hold 50 percent of the venture.

The source told the newspaper that Shanghai Alliance Investment, which is reportedly run by Jiang Mianheng, a son of former President Jiang Zemin, wanted to end the partnership because the venture's business model has "always been unclear."

The venture provides Chinese-language online content, email and instant messaging services.

A Beijing-based official with Microsoft's public relations company H-Line Ogilvy declined to comment on the report.

Microsoft's spokesman in Beijing was not immediately available for comment.

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