AOL acquired contextual search company Sphere, the ISP (Internet service provider) and portal company said Tuesday.

The search technology of San Francisco-based Sphere allows publishers to aggregate content based on related subjects, such as video, audio and blog posts, in order to increase advertising exposure by driving page views.

AOL did not release financial terms of the deal, nor did it say when it expected the deal to close.

The Time Warner company is currently looking for an identity and new revenue streams as it disposes of its Internet access business. In March, it bought U.K.-based social networking site Bebo for US$850 million. Last week, it was linked to a possible deal with Yahoo as a way for that company to give shareholders options other than be acquired by Microsoft.

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