Google expands deals to New York, San Francisco

Google expanded its local bargains program to San Francisco and New York on Tuesday, a month after launching a test of the service in Portland, Oregon.

"Google Offers," a challenge to online deals star Groupon, will be offered next in Austin, Texas, Boston, Denver, Seattle and Washington, Google Offers product management director Eric Rosenblum said in a blog post.

"Following our first launch of Google Offers beta in Portland last month, we're bringing great deals to the Big Apple and the Bay Area starting today," Rosenblum said.

"Whether it's touring Napa wineries, grabbing a slice of deep dish pizza in San Francisco or Albany, California, or catching an improv show in New York, stay tuned for deals from the best these areas have to offer," he added.

Google Offers is a rival to Chicago-based Groupon, which offers subscribers online coupons for discounts on a broad range of consumer goods and services.

Groupon, which claims more than 83 million subscribers, rejected a reported $5 billion takeover offer from Google last year and filed for an initial public offering last month seeking to raise as much as $750 million.

Facebook has also entered the daily deals space and began offering local bargains to members of the social network in five US cities in April.

(c) 2011 AFP