TECHNOLOGY - Nov. 19, 1998

Microsoft said it would immediately begin selling its minority stake in RealNetworks Inc., which makes software for playing audio and video from the Internet. Microsoft, which has developed a competing technology, said it first notified RealNetworks in June that it was considering a sale of its position. Microsoft said it offered this fall to work with RealNetworks on an underwritten secondary offering but that the companies could not agree on terms. Last year, Seattle-based RealNetworks forged a deal with Microsoft to integrate its technology with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser, but that alliance collapsed amid bitter accusations. The companies have begun to carve out divergent strategies for distributing media via the Internet.