Germany's Mannesmann may take a minority stake in internet service provider AOL Europe.

The company, the subject of a hostile takeover from Vodafone AirTouch, wants to bolster its internet presence in Europe.

The move would help convince investors of its ability to thrive in Europe without Vodafone, reports suggest.

Vodafone has also sought to boost its internet offering, announcing a deal with Affinity on Friday to get content for its mobile phones.

Talks at an early stage

Mannesmann declined to comment on the reports in the UK's Financial Times newspaper.

Talks with AOL Europe's owners are at an early stage, the report said.

AOL Europe is owned by US internet group America Online and German media group Bertelsmann.

At this stage, it is unclear which of these two companies, which own equal shares in AOL Europe, would reduce its share in the internet service provider.

If Mannesmann takes a stake in AOL Europe, it would support its case to shareholders. It argues that it could thrive in the competitive European telecoms world without Vodafone.

Mannesmann is Europe's third largest internet service provider. The top two places are occupied by Deutsche Telekom's T-Online and AOL Europe.

Vodafone signs up with affinity

Vodafone's deal with Affinity Internet is for the provision of information and games for its interactive mobile phone services.

"The deal reflects the beginning of a shift in internet access from fixed PC to mobile, bringing commercial and lifestyle benefits to both our customers," Ian Germer, head of Vodafone's UK internet services said.

Affinity shares jumped 17.2%, or 475p, to 3237p on the news.

Affinity will develop the systems in partnership with computer services company ICL.

White knights

As the deadline approaches for the hostile bid, other companies have been tipped as potential white knights for Mannesmann.

In France, newspapers speculate that French group Vivendi is in talks with Mannesmann.

Reports say that Vivendi and Mannesmann plan to create a joint holding company covering Mannesmann's industrial activities, Vivendi's water and waste treatment services and both companies' telecoms businesses.

Predictably, Vodafone AirTouch's chief executive Chris Gent dismisses Vivendi's chances.

"An alliance between Mannesmann and Vodafone creates much more value than an alliance between Mannesmann and Vivendi. We can offer a global presence, rather than just a European one, and a better partnership," Mr Gent said in a French daily newspaper.

He doubted Vivendi could afford to buy Mannesmann.

"Our share exchange offer (for Mannesmann) is worth over 150bn euros. That's much more than Vivendi could offer," he said in an interview with France's Le Figaro newspaper.

Vodafone shares fell 10p to 336p in early Friday trading.