Google Buys Quiksee Virtual Tour Provider

Google has acquired Israel-based Quiksee, whose software allows users to create 3D video tours that leverage location.

Financial terms of the deal were not made public, though publication Haaretz, which originally reported the deal Sept. 13, said it was for $10 million.

Google and Quiksee confirmed the company is joining Google's Geo team, which includes Google Maps and Google Earth. Haaretz described the deal as the "missing link in Google's Street View feature" for Google Maps.

Google Street View allows users to view photos taken from cars that patrol streets around the world.

Paired with Quiksee technology, Street View might eventually allow users to geotag videos they shoot and upload them to make Google Maps more interactive. Google is mum on what exactly it will use Quiksee technology for.

"We're excited to welcome Quiksee to Google, but we don't have additional details we can share at this time," a Google spokesperson told eWEEK.

"We've learned a lot from our previous work at Quiksee, and we look forward to bringing our experience, creativity and insight to Google," Quiksee wrote on its Website.

"Both Google and Quiksee share the same innovative vision, and while we can't share any future product plans, we look forward to the opportunity to contribute and do great things together in the future."

Quiksee, founded by Gadi Royz, Assaf Harel, Pavel Yosifovich and Rony Amira, is the second Israel-based startup the search engine has acquired this year.

Google purchased widget provider LabPixies in April to pad its social software arsenal as it seeks to take on Facebook.

In fact, most of Google's acquisitions in 2010 have been social in nature, including widget maker Slide, virtual currency provider Jambool, social aggregator Angstro and social game provider SocialDeck.