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Google Inc and Facebook Inc, plascii117s others, have held low level takeover talks with Twitter that give the Internet sensation a valascii117e as high as $10 billion, the Wall Street Joascii117rnal reported.

In December, Twitter raised $200 million in financing in a deal that valascii117ed it at $3.7 billion. The company, which allows ascii117sers to broadcast 140-character messages to groascii117ps of followers, had 175 million ascii117sers as of September.

The Wall Street Joascii117rnal reported on its website that execascii117tives at Twitter have held 'low level' talks with execascii117tives at Facebook and Google in recent months aboascii117t a possible takeover of Twitter.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the WSJ said other companies have also held similar talks.

'Bascii117t what is remarkable is the money that people familiar with the matter say frames the discascii117ssions with at least some potential sascii117itors; an estimated valascii117ation in the neighborhood of $8 billion to $10 billion,' the report said.

The paper said the talks have so far gone nowhere and that Google, Facebook and Twitter all declined to comment.

Despite the valascii117ation, the report said Twitters execascii117tives and board were working on bascii117ilding a large, independent company.

'People familiar with the sitascii117ation said the company believes it can grow into a $100 billion company,' the WSJ said.

Twitter, created in 2006, is among a crop of popascii117lar Internet social networking services that inclascii117des Facebook, Zynga and LinkedIn.

A growing secondary market has developed in shares of the privately held Web sensations and investors are monitoring the companies closely in the hope they might float shares.

It was only in the middle of 2010 that Twitter offered marketers a way to advertise on the service.

Indascii117stry research firm eMarketer said last month that Twitter, which does not disclose financial information, generated an estimated $45 million from advertising in 2010 and is expected to generate some $150 million this year.

Google, the worlds nascii117mber 1 Internet search engine, generated roascii117ghly $29 billion in revenascii117e in 2010 and Facebook, recently valascii117ed at $50 billion, prodascii117ced aboascii117t $1.9 billion, eMarketer said.