CORRECTED - CORRECTED--(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 2-EMC to offer Web hosting service-

(SAP corrects comments to show that the companies are in early-stage talks over a possible partnership. No agreement has been reached.)

(Adds comments from company and analyst)

By Jim Finkle

BOSTON, Feb 13 (Reuters) - EMC Corp (EMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the world's top provider of corporate computer storage hardware, is in early-stage talks with Germany's SAP AG (SAPG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to deliver computer programs over the Web, a senior SAP executive said on Wednesday.

The proposed tie-up comes as Massachusetts-based EMC makes a push into a much hyped new area of technology known as "cloud computing" that centralizes computing and storage functions at data centers, and allows people with PCs or laptop computers and Web access to tap vast stores of information from afar.

The companies would use virtualization technology to deliver that software to customers, Doug Merritt, president of SAP Labs North America and a member of the SAP Executive Board, told Reuters in an interview.

He did not discuss specifics of their proposed collaboration.

In a virtual environment, companies install software on machines at one data center and workers use inexpensive computers equipped with software that allows them to run the software remotely.

Companies save money because technicians can perform maintenance from a single location, saving them the trouble of accessing equipment sprawled across the company. The technology makes it easier for companies to move operations in a natural disaster.