Google ties YouTube videos to news stories
Google is combining YouTube videos with Google News to offer users what it hopes will be greater perspective on news stories.
The company announced on its blog that visitors to Google News will see a "Video" prefix next to news stories. Clicking on these links will take them to a YouTube page where they can watch video about the subject.
Google is still testing the offering with news sources such as CBS, Reuters and local TV stations owned by Hearst.
"Today, viewing news videos or other content types on the Web can be a frustrating experience," said Lucy Zhang, a member of Google News' engineering team. "You often get videos that don't play, sites that require different video player downloads, or have misleading descriptions of the content. That's why we're working with YouTube so you can easily view online videos without any downloads required and regardless of what browser you're using."
The offering is a sign that Google is looking for ways to get the most use out of YouTube's vast video library. The service may also send a message to news providers that Google is ratcheting up efforts to become the Web's main news stand.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET. 
