Oct 9, 2006, 18:19 GMT
San Francisco - Google and YouTube announced video distribution agreements Monday with major music companies, as reports said a deal between the two Internet darlings was imminent.
Google, which dominates Internet search and advertising, is expected to pay some 1.65 billion dollars for YouTube, which in less than two years since its founding in a Silicon Valley garage has leapt to a commanding position in the internet video market.
YouTube's technology allows anyone to easily post videos online. But though the site serves over 100 million videos a day, its reliance on copyrighted material has exposed it to criticism and potential legal struggles and the deals announced Monday could remedy the problem.
YouTube paved the way for the music company deals last month with a pact with with Warner Music for the company to post its catalogue of videos online in exchange for a share of the revenues.
Monday's deals extend similar arrangements to Universal Music Group, Sony BMG and US television network CBS, which will showcase short-form videos on the site.
Google announced separate music video deals with Warner Music and Sony BMG.
Both YouTube and Google have declined to comment on their alleged deal, which according to the New York Times was likely to be announced after the close of markets Monday.
But a deal between the two internet darlings could allow Google to dominate the burgeoning arena for online video, which many analysts believe will within a few years compete with traditional TV as a viewing media.
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