Google seeks $1bn flight search engine

Another buy for Chocolate Factory

Google is going shopping again - it's in talks to buy travel search specialist ITA Software for more than $1bn.

ITA, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts was founded in the mid-90s by boffins from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its flight search and shopping software is used by Orbitz, several US airlines and Microsoft.

The buy would help Google compete with Microsoft's travel portals and Bing, now that we've got planes in the air again.

Bloomberg's anonymous sources said the talks may not finally lead to a deal. ®