Reports are starting to surface that Google has purchased Groupon, a popular local deals site, for around $2.5 billion. The purchase has not been made official by either party yet, but Vatornews has received the info from a "reliable source."

Should this deal be legit, it was be quite an addition to Google's small business directory and programs like Google Places. This would also give Groupon the inside track against all of the copycat sites that have been popping up due to the success of their site, which has reported revenues of $50 million per month.