WWW- Google is reportedly in talks to purchase online video site YouTube for $1.6 billion, according to several media reports.

The Wall Street Journal Friday, citing a source familiar with the talks, said Google, the Internet search leader was at a sensitive point in the talks to buy YouTube, the leading online video sharing site.

The Journal’s report comes on the heels of similar speculation on the technology blog, Techcrunch, which said a deal was in the works a day earlier.

Google and YouTube representatives declined to comment on the rumors Friday.

San Mateo-based YouTube was established by three veterans of online payment provider PayPal and currently has 43 percent of the online video sharing market, according to Hitwise, an Internet research firm. YouTube visitors watch more than 100 million videos a day on the site, according to the company.

Google Video, a competing video service that the search giant hoped would make it a significant player in the burgeoning world of online video, ranked fifth in the field with 6.5 percent of the market.

The purported price of the deal is considerable. By contrast, News Corp. purchased MySpace, the leading social networking site, for $580 million last year.

The company’s chief executive Chad Hurley [pictured left] has previously said the company was not for sale and a future initial public offering was possible.

The New York Post last month, however, quoted a source inside YouTube who said the company would not sell for less than $1.5 billion.