Google to buy VoIP, videoconferencing company

In an apparent effort to improve the services it can offer online, Google is seeking to acquire Global IP Solutions (GIPS), a Norwegian company specializing in Internet telephony and videoconferencing.

The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform

"The Web is evolving quickly as a development platform, and real-time video and audio communication over the Internet are becoming important new tools for users," said Rian Liebenberg, an engineering director at Google, in a statement. "GIPS' technology provides high quality, real-time audio and video over an IP [Internet Protocol] network, and we're looking forward to working with the GIPS team at Google to continue innovating for the Web platform."

Google already has some voice over IP (VoIP) technology through its acquisition of Gizmo5 and its Google Voice service. Acquiring GIPS could expand Google's capabilities, exerting new competitive pressure on existing telecommunications powers as well as upstarts such as Skype.