Google Acquires Ruba.com - Another Step towards Google Travel?

Google Acquires Online Travel Guide Ruba
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/21/google-acquires-travel-guide-startup-ruba/

Ruba offer users a way to visually browse through cities and their attractions around the world, offering photo-rich guides and an emphasis on making it easy to quickly discover new locations....

Guides are all written and submitted by users, with Ruba pulling from Google and Flickr APIs to help pinpoint locations and provide some sample photos (users can submit their own, too). The site, which is similar in some ways to TripAdvisor, features integration with Twitter and Facebook Connect, allowing users to broadcast where they’re headed and ask friends for input.

It’s unclear at this point how Ruba will be integrated into Google’s products. Google has been reportedly making a significant move to enter the online travel business, integrating hotel links into Maps and listing hotels with room rates. The search giant is also supposedly in talks to buy fare shopping software ITA software, according to the USA Today.

Full article

Ruba.com

For itinerary planning, this one seemed better from first impression:
http://www.hostelmanagement.com/forums/hostel-withme-hostelworld-google-wave-applicationextension.html