AOL Time Warner, the world's biggest media group, said on Wednesday that it lost nearly $100 billion in 2002.

It said it took a loss of $44.91 billion in the last quarter of 2002 alone as the value of America Online collapsed.

That led to the largest full-year loss in corporate history: $98.7 billion, which is roughly equal to Ireland's total annual economic output.

In January 2000, AOL had negotiated a deal to snatch control of Time Warner.

At that time AOL's share value was vastly inflated, thanks to the Internet boom. Since then AOL's value has sunk.

The group's Vice-Chairman, Ted Turner, who built an empire out of CNN and movie channels TBS and TNT, said he was leaving AOL Time Warner in May.

The group's Chairman, Steve Case, has already announced his resignation, also to become effective in May.