The buzz mill is in full swing today. The latest claim to run through the blogosphere this afternoon is that Nokia is in talks with Mircosoft to use Windows Mobile on some of its smartphones. Say what?

Let's take a look at this rumor:

According to reports in IT Wire and elsewhere, Finnish phone giant Nokia has entertained talks with Microsoft about the possibility of running Windows Mobile on its smartphones.

I think there could be some validity to this rumor. Nokia has said that it is interested in gaining market share in North America. It's also obviously interested in getting some traction in the business mobility market. Creating a Windows Mobile version of the E62 or similar smartphone could help Nokia on both fronts.

Then again, Nokia may be just talking to the crew in Redmond about its existing partnerships:

We note that Nokia has already licensed Microsoft's ActiveSync synchronization technology in order to give its smartphones direct synchronization with Microsoft Exchange Servers, and no doubt Nokia meets Microsoft regularly to discuss this and other trends in the mobile space. So Nokia meeting Microsoft does not mean the talks were about supporting Windows Mobile at all.

Or the two companies may be planning some big news next week in Barcelona. What do you think? Will Nokia launch a Windows Mobile smartphone?