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TechCrunch floats a rumor that Google's buying YouTube for $1.6 billion, calling it "40% likely to be at least partially true."

Despite Arrington's assurance that this tidbit comes from a "very good" source, the very idea sounds ridiculous — unless Google has really given up on its mediocre Google Video offering.

Of course, if Google did buy YouTube, those lawsuits for stolen content may hold off for a bit — and then hit hard. On the one hand, Google's a juicy financial target for all the media companies whose video is pirated on YouTube. On the other, Google's damn good at fighting copyright violation charges, thanks to its experience with caching, image search, and Google Print.

As for the staff, we can definitely see cocky dudes like founder Chad Hurley fitting into the Google culture.

Completely Unsubstantiated Google/YouTube Rumor [TechCrunch]
Earlier: What do we lose when YouTube sells out? [Valleywag]