Google interested in acquiring Skype?

Google may be looking into acquiring Skype, creators of the famous VoIP network and software, rumors suggest. Anonymous individuals within the London web industry hint that Google is already in negotiations for Skype, which Google would have to buy from the current owner, auction site company eBay. The latter is said to be unhappy with how much it paid, which amounted to $1.3 billion plus 32.8 million shares; in the third quarter of 2007, Skype produced only $98 million in net revenue. Aiding the rumor is the fact that Google's mobile projects are based in London, which may mean that it plans to incorporate Skype technology into Android.

The United Kingdom was the first launchpoint for the Skypephone, a device that allows Skype users to call each other for free over cellular lines. Google could in theory seek to place Android on future incarnations of the Skypephone, or do the reverse, by incorporating Skypephone technology into Android on more conventional phones. [via The Guardian]