• by Tameka Kee , May 15, 2007

Google's recent patent filing in the U.S. and Europe to covertly monitor the way users play online games, following its $23 million acquisition of AdScape Media in February, has bloggers and industry sources alike seeing a pair of logically synchronized steps toward the company entering the lucrative business of in-game advertising.

Google, however, issued this statement:

"We file patent applications on a variety of ideas that our employees come up with. Some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patent applications."

With reports from eMarketer predicting in-game advertising to reach almost $2 billion by 2010, Google could feasibly earn a lion's share of that revenue by offering marketers personality and behavior-based user information.

Privacy advocates like Sue Charman of online campaign Open Rights Group are deeply concerned. "I can understand why they are interested in this, but I would be deeply disturbed by a company holding a psychological profile," she said.

Advertising companies such as IGA Worldwide collect IP addresses to serve geographically targeted ads in online games, but delete that information immediately after the transmittal. "At IGA Worldwide, we are extremely aware of the privacy issues surrounding user information," said CEO Justin Townsend. "We are committed to delivering results for our advertisers, but ultimately we must keep the users happy."