People walk past Yahoo! offices in Santa Monica, California, May 19, 2008. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

(Reuters) - Yahoo Inc’s new board on Tuesday approved a new round of discussions with Time Warner Inc over the future of its AOL unit, the Financial Times said, citing a person familiar with Yahoo’s thinking.

The green light for the talks came as Yahoo’s directors met for the first time since activist investor Carl Icahn was granted access to the boardroom, the paper said.

Active deal negotiations are not underway at this stage, the paper said.

Yahoo could not be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore)