Spurned by Groupon, Google Creates Competitor

If you can't buy 'em, run 'em out of town seems to be Google's motto. Mashable reports exclusively that Internet 800-pound gorilla Google is planning to launch "Google Offers," a service that offers a "pre-paid offers/vouchers program" to local merchants. While not announced, much less launched, it appears to be targeted directly at Groupon's market of once-a-day email offers of deep discount coupons. And Google plans to pay promptly—sending most of the merchant's cut within three days.

Mashable appears to have gotten word of the program from a merchant who received a solicitation form Google to participate in a beta version of the couponing service. Read the full article. (More Groupon stories.)