The reports/rumors, saying that the search giant Google is in advanced stage talks to buy social networking and micro-blogging service Twitter, are hot and around! These reports/rumors have recently appeared on TechCrunch.

According to TechCrunch, two unnamed sources have reported that Google is in late stage take over negotiations with Twitter and the asking price of the Twitter acquisition deal is more than the $250m (£170m), but another anonymous source has revealed that Google is only in the early stage dialogue with Twitter.   

Certainly, the reports/rumors about the Google – Twitter acquisition deal are based on the information provided by anonymous sources cited by TechCrunch. Furthermore, tech news website has also featured Michael Arrington statement saying “Twitter's valuation is expected to be "well north" of $250 million”.

However, there is no official word about the acquisition deal, from the two companies yet. Such reports/rumors also surface during the month before last, when Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco, expressed that “Google will be ready to make a deal (with Twitter) when the price is right. The good news is we have lots of capital. But, some days later, Schmidt ended all the speculations, in the interview journalist Charlie Rose, answering the question, “Does Google want to buy Twitter?”  

Schmidt had answered, “I shouldn't talk about specific acquisitions. We're unlikely to buy anything in the short term partly because I think prices are still high. And it's unfortunate I think we're in the middle of a cycle. Google is generating a lot of cash. And so we keep that cash in extremely secure banks.”

Earlier, Twitter turned down Facebook’s $500 million take over offer. However, Twitter has recently announced that it is looking to generate money from its messaging service; it is planning to launch its paid service this year. Still, there is no solid evidence that Google and Twitter are negotiating the acquisition deal.