It’s the week for divorces, it seems.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced it was splitting MSN into two parts: communication and information. The information division has the web site, e-commerce, the nascent search technology; this group will also work on an online music store. The communication division has Messenger, Hotmail, Passport.

Interesting timing. It’s the first quarter of profitability for the long-suffering division.

On Monday, stockholders approved a split of Palm Inc., where the software division was spun off, and also approved the purchase of Handspring, Inc. The hardware company will be known as PalmOne.

Links: cNet; InternetNews.com; Financial Times; Seattle Post-Intelligencier; Information Week.