In a move that would further enhance Google's market-leading product search business, the Internet search biggie has acquired start-up shopping site Like. com, which allows users to search for jewelry, watches, handbags, and shoes.

Announcing the acquisition on its site on Friday, Like. com said that since its shopping Web site is essentially organized around visual search, the technology will be a perfect fit for Google's plans to build out its product search features before the commencement of the holiday shopping season this year.

So far as the technology aspect of the Like. com acquisition is concerned, the company's image recognition/comparison engine can not only power shopping, but can additionally help in Google's Image Search product, which has recently been given a notable upgrade. Furthermore, the Like. com technology could also prove beneficial for Google's other experimental products like Goggles.

In a statement posted on Like. com's home page, the company's co-founder and CEO Munjal Shah, mentioning about the acquisition, said: "We were the first to bring visual search to shopping, the first to build an automated cross-matching system for clothing, and more. We see joining Google as a way to supersize our vision and supercharge our passion."

Meanwhile, though the financial terms of the acquisition are yet to be disclosed, an earlier-this-week Techcrunch story, first reporting that the deal was underway, said that Google was likely to pay $100 million for the Like. com takeover.