Real-time search deals make Twitter profitable

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- Twitter has reached profitability after securing real-time content search deals with Google and Microsoft that together bring in 25 million U.S. dollars for the popular micro-blogging website, U.S. media reported on Monday.

An agreement that made Twitter users' 140-character live updates searchable on Google's site will generate about 15 million dollars, Business Week magazine reported on its website.

A similar deal to make Twitter's content available on Microsoft's search engine Bing will earn Twitter another 10 million dollars.

The two multi-year agreements, both announced in October, carry sufficient value to help Twitter achieve a small profit for 2009, the report said, citing two people familiar with the company's finances who asked to remain anonymous.

According to research firm ComScore, three-year-old Twitter has more than 58 million global monthly users, and has emerged as the third most popular social networking website in the United States after Facebook and MySpace.

Analysts and investors have been watching closely how Twitter would convert its popularity into revenue and profit.