Internet search engine Google has bought top video entertainment site Youtube for $1.65 billion in stock.
The deal brings together two of the Internet's most popular and powerful brands and drives the price of consumer-generated media websites even higher.
The agreement is the first deal to value one of the new crop of user-participation websites at more than $1 billion (€79 billion)
Google has long been synonymous with rapid innovation on the Internet, and
Youtube has spearheaded the video-sharing craze that has taken the entertainment world by storm in recent months.
Google's chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said: "We are natural partners to offer a compelling media entertainment service to users, content owners and advertisers."
Youtube is now the most expensive purchase Google has made in its eight-year history.
Youtube will continue to retain its brand, as well as all 67 employees, including co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.
