JWEB ---GRADE:: **

Pre-Open Alert on JWEB on pre-open buying increase due to pending news...

WASHINGTON, Nov 14 (Reuters) - America Online Inc and Time Warner Inc are in talks with some big Internet rivals to give them access to cable television lines in an attempt to win government approval of their merger, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The newspaper quoted sources familiar with the negotiations as saying that Time Warner and AOL, the world's dominant Internet service provider, have stepped up talks with one-time nemesis EarthLink Inc., the nation's second-largest ISP.

The two companies were also trying to put the finishing touches on a proposed contract with Juno Online Services Inc., the third-largest ISP in the country, the Post said, quoting Juno's chief executive Charles Ardai.

Both deals would give the AOL competitors access to Time Warner's extensive cable television network for Internet service.

The Federal Trade Commission last week gave AOL and Time Warner up to three weeks to satisfy concerns about competition in the marketplace, or else the government likely will go to court to block the $183 billion deal.