Nokia Corp. is in talks with Microsoft Corp. about using the U.S. software giant's Windows Phone 7 operating system on mobile phones, a person familiar with the situation said.

If an agreement can be reached in time, Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop likely would announce the deal Friday, when he is expected to present his strategy to investors in London, the person said.

Nokia also could reach a deal to use Google Inc.'s popular Android operating system, analysts have said. Nokia also offers its own Symbian software platform.

In an internal memo this week, Mr. Elop compared Nokia to a man standing on a burning oil platform, saying the company "poured gasoline" on its "own burning platform." Just as the man on the platform might jump into icy water to escape the flames, Nokia has to take drastic action to reverse a decline that has left the company years behind the competition, he wrote.

"Nokia, our platform is burning," Mr. Elop wrote in the memo, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. "It will be a huge effort to transform our company," he adds, The Wall Street Journal reported.