• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, August 4, 2010

Google reportedly has agreed to purchase Slide, in a deal expected to be announce later this week. The purchase price is being reported between $182 million and $228 million. MediaPost had predicted in April the Mountain View, Calif.'s next big thing would be video and social games. This acquisition may become another stepping stone in the process.

But that stone may include many more steps. Google also has picked up Instantiations, known for its Java/Ajax development tools and Google Web Toolkit (GWT) designer.