Will Wendi Pad Her MySpace Pal's Payday?

MySpace founders Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe probably aren't going to get anything like the $50 million they're seeking from News Corp. -- but if they do, they may have Rupert Murdoch's wife to thank.

With their current contract set to expire next month, Anderson and DeWolfe are currently negotiating a new deal. They're reportedly asking for $50 million over two years, or $12.5 million apiece per year, as well as $15 million of play money to invest in new properties.

That's considered unlikely. Though News Corp. was willing to lay out $580 million to acquire MySpace two years ago, DeWolfe and Anderson are seen within the company not as visionaries but as guys who, more or less, were in the right place at the right time. Of the two, Anderson has the slightly higher profile: He's the default first "friend" of everyone who joins the social networking site.

But DeWolfe has made a real-life friend who could prove far more important: A News Corp. source tells me he has become quite close with Wendi Deng, Murdoch's third and current wife, and the chief of strategy for MySpace China. The friendship may have taken root when Deng traveled to China with DeWolfe and Anderson last year to meet with possible partners there.

And before you scoff at the idea of Deng interceding with her husband on her new pal's behalf, remember how Sumner Redstone said his wife's aversion to Tom Cruise played a part in his decision to kill the actor's production deal with Paramount.