Every buyout rumor in the tech world seems to lead back to Google these days.  In the past week, blogs have linked at least three companies to Google. The latest is that Bebo, the social networking site with a huge fan following in the U.K., has sold itself for $1 billion and Google is the likely buyer. Now, as TechCrunch — which reported this on sources – says, Bebo would make perfect sense for Google because it fits nicely with Orkut, the Google-owned network that’s popular in Brazil and India.

Why it would make sense for Google to buy Plaxo is less clear, but that hasn’t stopped the rumor-mongering. Talk that Plaxo — unfortunately, still best remembered for relentlessly spamming users — put itself up for sale first emerged a few weeks ago, with a price tag ranging from $100 million to $200 million. The New York Times even reported Plaxo had hired Revolution Partners to handle the sale, but bankers at the firm were mum when we tried to reach them.

Both Plaxo and Bebo have cozied up to Google by joining its OpenSocial initiative, which is basically the tech giant’s response to the successful Facebook platform.

Not only that, but market talk of Google being interested in snapping up CNET Networks, currently battling a  bunch of activist shareholders, also pushed up CNET’s share price last week.

Google has declined to comment on these rumors, but at least we know that its enthusiasm in an advertising tie-up with Yahoo may be waning. So who is Google interested in? Potentially any number of companies going by the list of deals it has struck, but maybe it’s waiting for the Micro-Hoo outcome to announce its next step.

Photo: Reuters file