Google snaps up Waze to add to mapping service

Google has purchased online mapping service Waze for in a deal that keeps a potentially valuable tool away from its rivals while gaining technology that could improve the accuracy and usefulness of its own popular navigation system.

The acquisition announced Tuesday ends several months of speculation involving Waze. The company flirted with suitors interested in its rapidly growing service, which blends elements of a social network into its maps to produce more precise directions and more reliable information about traffic conditions. (AP)