What happens to Netscape now? (And, more important, Mozilla.)

The AOL Time Warner deal with Microsoft, says the NYT, ” also puts the final nail in the Netscape coffin.

AOL has been keeping Netscape alive, despite its tiny market share, largely as a bargaining chip with Microsoft. After Netscape’s latest release this summer, AOL is likely to cut even further the small group of people who remain devoted to Netscape’s software.

Even Netscape’s Web site, once the centerpiece of the effort to connect the online versions of all of AOL Time Warner’s media properties, is now being de-emphasized. The Web sites of its magazines, including Time and Fortune, are no longer presented under the Netscape banner. Rather, those magazines are increasingly being used to bolster the flagging fortunes of America Online’s main service.”

AOL clearly has no further need for Netscape. What does this mean for Mozilla, the open source project spun out from Netscape?