Google has purchased a virtual-currency software company called Jambool, adding to recent acquisitions to it social-networking stable.
Terms of the deal were not revealed, but was estimated at around $70 million.
The start-up manufactures a product called Social Gold, which lets other sites build virtual-currency infrastructures. Google runs its own PayPal-like transaction platform, Google Checkout, and may have been looking for a virtual-currency system to complement it.
The announcement comes a week after Google acquired Slide, a social-media company founded by PayPal veteran Max Levchin.
Google also has invested in social-gaming giant Zynga and may be working on a full-fledged gaming product of its own.
