Google takes photo editing website Picnik in its fold

Google yesterday said that it had acquired photo editing website Picnik, which works across Facebook, Picassa, Flickr, MySpace and Photobucket platforms.

It is one of the first sites to bring photo editing to the cloud using which one can crop, do touch-ups and add cool effects to one's photos, all without leaving the web browser. Picnik said on its blog that it has reached the one billion photo edits milestone.

An official Google blog posted by Brian Axe, product management director, said, ''We're looking forward to collaborating closely with Picnik to improve the online photo editing experience on the web.

''We're not announcing any significant changes to Picnik today, though we'll be working hard on integration and new features. As well, we'd like to continue supporting all existing Picnik partners so that users will continue to be able to add their photos from other photo sharing sites, make edits in the cloud and then save and share to all relevant networks.''

Picnik, in its official blog wrote about the acquisition, ''We've just been acquired by Google. What does this mean for Picnik? It means we can think BIG. Google processes petabytes of data everyday, and with their worldwide infrastructure and world-class team, it is truly the best home we could have found. Under the Google roof we will reach more people than ever before, impacting more lives and making more photos more awesome.''