Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Washington Post Co.'s Newsweek magazine will split its Web site from MSNBC.com to increase control over advertising sales and editorial content, publisher Greg Osberg said.

The new site will begin in mid-October, Osberg said today in a telephone interview. Newsweek.com will continue to share content with MSNBC, owned by General Electric Co. and Microsoft Corp., under a multiple-year contract, Osberg said.

``Having separate navigational schemes for Newsweek and MSNBC was a bit confusing for users,'' Osberg said. ``We also wanted to have the flexibility for design purposes both technologically and for advertising.''

The new contract with MSNBC replaces a seven-year agreement that expired in June. Washington Post is investing in its Web sites to attract advertising revenue lost at the flagship newspaper and at Newsweek. Last month, Washington Post and CBS Corp. said their Web sites will share political content related to the 2008 presidential campaigns.

Washington Post fell 40 cents to $798 at 3:58 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 7 percent this year.

Newsweek had originally embedded its site in MSNBC.com to attract users of the cable-TV network's site and Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's MSN Internet portal, Osberg said. General Electric is based in Fairfield, Connecticut.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leon Lazaroff in New York at llazaroff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: September 24, 2007 16:06 EDT