X

Google to buy AdScape for $23 million

Elinor Mills Former Staff Writer
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service and the Associated Press.
See full bio
Elinor Mills

Google is buying in-game advertising company AdScape Media for $23 million, a source told CNET News.com.

The deal was rumored to be in the works since last month. Red Herring reported that the deal was being finalized on Thursday.

Spokespeople at Google and AdScape declined to comment on "speculation and rumor."

Buying AdScape would give Google technology that would allow it to move into yet another market to serve ads to -- the fast growing online and video game market, which is expected to reach $200 million in revenue this year and as much as $700 million by 2010.

The company's automated online ad-serving system performed so well that Google's fourth-quarter profit nearly tripled. Over the last 18 months, the search giant has been rapidly moving into new ad markets such as print and radio.