Web video site YouTube will be profitable for Google Inc. in the near future, the Internet search leader said.

Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, but has lost money on the site that lets people post and share videos free.

Analysts have raised concerns about the huge costs involved in streaming millions of videos with only a tiny swathe of them being supported by advertising.

"YouTube is now on a trajectory that we're very pleased with," Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said during an earnings call last week.

He added that Google is helping marketers and advertising agencies create "great ads easily" for YouTube.

Google executives have recently made bullish remarks on YouTube's revenue growth. Schmidt told reporters at the Sun Valley technology and media conference this month that new advertising formats, such as pre-roll ads that appear before a web video program, will draw in more revenue.

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