• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, December 16, 2010

AOL this morning said it has acquired Pictela, start-up that has developed a promising infrastructure for seamlessly delivering extremely rich, and "high-definition" media via online publishers and social network platforms.

AOL did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said the acquisition of Pictela "complements" its so-called "Project Devil," a new online display advertising format that AOL announced in September, and said would "radically improve" the "aesthetic" quality of online advertising.

AOL said Pictela would continue to operate as a separate group within AOL's advertising division based in New York.

AOL said the acquisition of Pictela is the first it has made since spinning off as an independent publicly traded company in December 2009.