Google snaps up photo locator site

Google has agreed to acquire Spanish photo site Panoramio for an undisclosed sum. The site will continue to operate as an independent entity.

Panoramio groups images on maps, pinpointing the geographic location where they were taken. The site boasts more than a million photos and more than 300,000 registered users.

The service has been used in Google Maps and Google Earth to group pictures of tourist attractions and scenic locations.

"We have been working with Panoramio for some time, and its photos have been a default layer in Google Earth since the beginning of the year," said John Hanke, director of Google Maps, Google Earth and Google Local.

"This layer will remain in place as our teams work together towards further integrating this amazing content, generated by many, into our mapping technologies."

Google will, however, need to deal with Panoramio's user permissions. As part of its terms of service, Panoramio allows users to opt out of the service and have their personal information deleted if the service is acquired by another company.

A site has been set up to allow Panoramio users to pull their photos and user information from the site before the data is transferred to Google at the close of the acquisition. Google expects to finalise the deal by the end of June.