Google to Buy N. Korea?

David Schatsky | October 10, 2006, 09:55 AM

Nothing has been been announced, but the logic is unmistakable, and not just because North Korea's track record of successfully commercializing weapons systems could mean a nuclear-powered revenue stream for the Silicon Valley Web giant. No, Google would acquire 23 million new users in a purchase of North Korea. Given that most live at or below subsistence level, the cost per user will be lower than recent valuations of Internet companies would suggest.

There are other benefits too: A strong presence in North Korea would give Google good access to its most-wired neighbor to the south, while giving the company a new front to combat Baidu, Google's Chinese rival, to the west.

Then there's the increased traffic to Google Earth that global interest in North Korea's nuclear program is responsible for.

It's a new world of synergy out there.