The outside directors have agreed in principle to pay $18 million of their own money, with the remaining $36 million to be paid by the directors' liability insurers, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported Wednesday on their Web sites.

Some board members would pay more than the others, although the size of each director's payment has not been determined, the newspapers reported, citing people familiar with the case.

The personal payments were required as part of any deal at the start of negotiations, hoping to make an example of the board members, the Times reported, citing lawyers involved in the settlement.

The agreement is expected to be signed and presented for approval to a U.S. District Court in Manhattan as early as today, the Journal said.

WorldCom, which was based in Clinton, Miss., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after admitting it overstated profits by billions of dollars.

The company left bankruptcy last year, changed its name to MCI and relocated to Ashburn, Va.

WorldCom's former chief executive, Bernard Ebbers, is scheduled to stand trial this month on criminal charges that he oversaw the $11 billion fraud at the company, the largest corporate fraud in U.S. history.