Google buys German local bargain website

Google said Monday that it has bought German local bargain website DailyDeal as the Internet titan seeks to expand its local deals program to users outside the United States.

"As more and more people go online to find the latest, most relevant deals, we're exploring new ways to help consumers get the best local deals out there," a Google spokeswoman said in an email response to an AFP inquiry.

"The DailyDeal team has an incredible track record in this space, and we look forward to working with them," she said.

Google currently offers local bargains in a number of US cities, a program called Google Offers, and the DailyDeal acquisition comes just days after Google announced it has bought restaurant review guide Zagat.

DailyDeal was a two-person operation when it was founded in Berlin in December 2009. The startup boasts seeing "tremendous growth."

People throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland have used DailyDeal to find local deals on restaurants, travel, entertainment and shopping, according to the startup's website.

"We see great opportunity to better connect businesses with consumers on a much larger scale, and we have found a team that shares our vision," the DailyDeal team said in an online post announcing it was bought by Google.

"By combining our expertise with the Offers team at Google, we hope to expand our efforts to provide even greater deals to consumer," DailyDeal added.

Google expanded Google Offers to five more cities earlier this month in a challenge to online deals giants Groupon and LivingSocial.

Google said it had begun offering the deals from local businesses in Austin, Texas, Boston, Denver, Seattle, and the nation's capital, Washington.

Google launched a test of Google Offers in Portland, Oregon, in June and expanded it to San Francisco and New York a month later.

(c) 2011 AFP