Goggle acquires Korean blog tool firm

SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Yonhap) -- Google Inc., operator of the world's largest Web search engine, has recently acquired a South Korean blog tool provider to strengthen its business here, the U.S. company's local unit said Friday.

Google Korea has effectively taken over Tatter & Company Co., known among
Korean bloggers for their "Text Cube" blog-construction tool, the
company said in a statement. When the deal was signed and financial terms weren't
disclosed.

Through the deal, Google hopes to strengthen its service portfolio and its
user-oriented contents through differentiated services, the company said.

"We won't shy away from investments to provide Korean users with the best
search engine," said Lee Won-jin, chief executive of Google Korea.

Google launched its Korean operation in 2004 but has been struggling to increase
its presence here in the face of such homegrown tech giants as NHN Corp. and Daum
Communications Corp.

To tackle the growth deadlock, Google opened a research and development center in
South Korea in 2006 and unveiled a localized user interface in May last year.

odissy@yna.co.kr

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