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Google's bosses are meeting in Britain on Monday evening to discuss a response to Microsoft's new talks with Yahoo.

Google's chief executive Eric Schmidt and the founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are at the company's European "Zeitgeist" meeting in Hertfordshire.

They told journalists they had only just heard of Microsoft's latest move and needed to consider their reaction.

Microsoft said on Sunday that it was considering a deal with Yahoo that would not involve a full buyout.

The Reuters news agency is reporting that the potential deal would involve buying Yahoo's search engine business and a minority stake in the rest of the company.

Asked for his comments, Eric Schmidt said: "It's too early. After this press conference the three of us will meet and decide what our response is."

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