YouTube-predecessor Google Video, which debuted in early 2005 as a video search engine and was acquired by Google in October 2006 for 1.65 billion, will be closed down completely on May 13th.

The service has not been allowing users to upload new videos since May 2009, but now it will shut down altogether.

Google is asking users of the video service to move their videos to its video-sharing site YouTube. Users can download and save their videos locally. Download a video is a simple process. A user can go to the Video Status page, click on the Download Video link that appears on the right-hand side of each of the videos in the Actions column.

Users will not be able to download videos after the shutting down of the service.

The Mountain View-based Web search giant said it would instead focus its efforts on video search technologies.

The company said that the strength of service is its capability to allow users to search videos from across the Web, irrespective of where those videos are hosted

Speaking on the move, the company added, "And this move will enable us to focus on developing these technologies further to the benefit of searchers worldwide."

As per Google’s claims, there are currently as many as 2.8 million videos posted on Google Video service.