Valuation of debt and equity investments and certain liabilities (Investments at fair value) (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2010
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Short-term Investments	$ 1,037,000,000		$ 1,753,000,000
Long-term Investments	350,000,000		453,000,000
Amounts included in AOCI from available for sale securities: [Abstract]
Proceeds from sales, redemptions and maturities of short-term available-for-sale securities	3,250,000,000	2,180,000,000
Aggregate maturities of investments in money market funds and other debt securities classified as available for sale [Abstract]
One year or less	1,947,000,000
One to three years	168,000,000
Greater than three years	42,000,000
Measured at fair value [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	1,150,000,000		1,066,000,000
Short-term Investments	1,037,000,000		1,753,000,000
Long-term Investments	294,000,000		396,000,000
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Available-for-sale [Member] \| Money market funds [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	506,000,000		167,000,000
Short-term Investments	0		0
Long-term Investments	0		0
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Available-for-sale [Member] \| Corporate Obligations [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	300,000,000		44,000,000
Short-term Investments	166,000,000		649,000,000
Long-term Investments	0		0
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Available-for-sale [Member] \| U.S. government agency and treasury securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	344,000,000		855,000,000
Short-term Investments	799,000,000		1,081,000,000
Long-term Investments	0		0
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Available-for-sale [Member] \| Auction Rate Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	0		0
Short-term Investments	0		23,000,000
Long-term Investments	42,000,000		257,000,000
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Trading [Member] \| Auction Rate Securities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	0		0
Short-term Investments	72,000,000		0
Long-term Investments	94,000,000		0
Measured at fair value [Member] \| Trading [Member] \| Mutual funds [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	0		0
Short-term Investments	0		0
Long-term Investments	158,000,000		139,000,000
Other measurement basis [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	1,581,000,000		1,319,000,000
Short-term Investments	1,037,000,000		1,753,000,000
Long-term Investments	350,000,000		453,000,000
Other measurement basis [Member] \| Equity method investments [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	0		0
Short-term Investments	0		0
Long-term Investments	34,000,000		36,000,000
Other measurement basis [Member] \| Cost method investments [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	0		0
Short-term Investments	0		0
Long-term Investments	22,000,000		21,000,000
Other measurement basis [Member] \| Cash on hand [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Cash and Cash Equivalents	431,000,000		253,000,000
Short-term Investments	0		0
Long-term Investments	0		0
Cash and cash equivalents [Member]
Amounts included in AOCI from available for sale securities: [Abstract]
Unrealized gains (pre-tax)	0		0
Unrealized losses (pre-tax)	0		0
Short-term Investments [Member]
Amounts included in AOCI from available for sale securities: [Abstract]
Unrealized gains (pre-tax)	0		1,000,000
Unrealized losses (pre-tax)	0		1,000,000
Long-term Investments [Member]
Amounts included in AOCI from available for sale securities: [Abstract]
Unrealized gains (pre-tax)	0		0
Unrealized losses (pre-tax)	$ 4,000,000		$ 22,000,000

-- None. No documentation exists for this element. --

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This item represents the fair value of debt securities which are expected to mature after one year and through three years from the balance sheet date and which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

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This item represents the fair value of debt securities which are expected to mature after three years from the balance sheet date which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

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The cash inflow associated with the sales, redemptions and maturities of debt and equity securities classified as available-for-sale securities, excluding cash equivalents.

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- Definition

This item represents the fair value of debt securities which are expected to mature within one year of the balance sheet date and which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 115

-Paragraph 20

-Subparagraph a

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (a),(d)

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 942

-SubTopic 320

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-Paragraph 3

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- Definition

This item represents the gross unrealized gains for securities, at a point in time, which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 133

-Paragraph 22

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 115

-Paragraph 13, 19

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (b)

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This item represents the gross unrealized losses for securities, at a point in time, which are categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading securities.

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- Definition

This element represents the portion of the balance sheet assertion valued at fair value by the entity whether such amount is presented as a separate caption or as a parenthetical disclosure. Additionally, this element may be used in connection with the fair value disclosures required in the footnote disclosures to the financial statements. The element may be used in both the balance sheet and disclosure in the same submission. This item includes currency on hand as well as demand deposits with banks or financial institutions. It also includes other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits in that the Company may deposit additional funds at any time and also effectively may withdraw funds at any time without prior notice or penalty. Cash equivalents, excluding items classified as marketable securities, include short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash, and so near their maturity that they present minimal risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Generally, only investments with original maturities of three months or less qualify under that definition. Original maturity means original maturity to the entity holding the investment. For example, both a three-month US Treasury bill and a three-year Treasury note purchased three months from maturity qualify as cash equivalents. However, a Treasury note purchased three years ago does not become a cash equivalent when its remaining maturity is three months.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Glossary Cash

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6506951

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Glossary Cash Equivalents

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6507016

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 95

-Paragraph 7, 8, 9, 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 95

-Paragraph 7

-Footnote 1

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 95

-Paragraph 8

-Footnote 2

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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- Definition

The total amount of investments that are intended to be held for an extended period of time (longer than one operating cycle).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.12)

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- Definition

Investments which are intended to be sold in the short term (usually less than one year or the normal operating cycle, whichever is longer) including trading securities, available-for-sale securities, held-to-maturity securities, and other short-term investments not otherwise listed in the existing taxonomy.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Article 7

-Section 03

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph g

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-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

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-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.2)

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