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Google's hiring of the lead Firefox engineer has started the rumor mill rolling. Is this a prelude to the purchase of Firefox ... First here is what Ben said in announcing his new gig:

"As of January 10, 2005, my source of income changed from The Mozilla Foundation to Google, Inc. of Mountain View, California.

My role with Firefox and the Mozilla project will remain largely unchanged, I will continue doing much the same work as I have described above - with the new goal of successful 1.1, 1.5 and 2.0 releases. I remain devoted full-time to the advancement of Firefox, the Mozilla platform and web browsing in general. I'm sure you have many questions.

While I will be spending more time at Google, I will work out of the Mozilla Foundation offices regularly as the need arises. For all questions regarding Google, I ask that you contact Google directly, rather than myself."

Happy New Year,

Ben Goodger
Lead Engineer
Mozilla Firefox

Now that's interesting. He will work for Google and also continue his work on Firefox. He will also sometimes stop in at his old office ... which I presume they will keep intact.

Why would Google let him do this? Could this be part of the legendary 10% of the time they allow employees to spend on seed projects?

Or ... Could this simply be a prelude to buying Mozilla? I think the answer to that question is yes.

Rich Ord is the CEO of iEntry, Inc. which publishes over 200 websites and email newsletters. Rich also publishes his blog WebProBlog which focuses on internet business and marketing trends.