uBid cuts Murdoch for deal with LibertyOne.

LibertyOne, a fledgling Australian Internet company, will team with U.S. online auctioneer uBid to sell everything from computers to sporting goods, nudging Rupert Murdoch_s News Corporation out of the transaction, people familiar with the agreement said. Sydney-based LibertyOne will announce tomorrow it has secured rights from Illinois-based uBid to offer online auction services in Australia and New Zealand. News Corporation had already registered the Internet address "nubid.com.au" in anticipation of sealing the tie-up. uBid has more than 400,000 registered users and its sales are doubling every month. It concentrates on the "business-to-consumer" online auction market, acting as an Internet-based discount warehouse selling computers, consumer electronics, and housewares. Analysts said uBid likely chose LibertyOne because it has already teamed with U.S.-based Excite@Home to develop Internet sites throughout Asia. It might have also preferred to ally with a smaller company purely focused on the Internet. Murdoch has been trying to accelerate News Corporation_s Internet strategy, forming the $300 million E-partners venture in April to invest in online, interactive television, and wireless communication companies. That was followed by Epartners, News Corp._s new Internet investment arm, this month forming a $50 million joint venture with Japan_s Softbank that aims to bring U.S. Internet companies to Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and India. High-speed access News Corporation is the world_s fifth largest media company; though, its U.S. Web sites were only collectively ranked No. 41 in May, according to Media Metrix, a U.S.-based Internet audience-measurement firm. Murdoch_s 26-year-old son James Murdoch is heading a 200-strong team to make Internet investments, develop interactive TV services, and deliver its Fox Entertainment content over networks, such as that of Excite@Home, the top U.S. provider of high-speed Internet access through cable-TV lines.