Google has bought an algorithm from an Israeli student studying in Australia.

The search giant hasn't commented on the story, but it appears that Ori Allon has left the University of New South Wales to go and work for Google. The algorithm, a set of rules used by search engines to produce relevant results, is called Orion.

The Sydney Morning Herald confirmed Allon started work at Google's Mountain View headquarters six weeks ago. The university was in negotiations with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! to sell the technology.

Twenty-six year old Allon expects to finish the algorithm within 18 months.

Because Allon created the algorithm as part of his postgrad course, the university keeps some of the ownership rights. More from SMH and ZDNet Australia. ®

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