YouTube at age five a growing player in online films

SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube turned has five. In the scant time since the first video was uploaded to YouTube on April 23, 2005, the website has rocketed to global stardom and become a key player in a shift to Internet television.

"Hundreds of millions of people around the world now use the Web to connect and interact with content online," YouTube product manager Shenaz Zack said in a blog post on the eve of the website's birthday yesterday.

"A huge percentage of them go even further: they express themselves via parodies, celebrate their favorite videos with mashups, and use music in educational presentations."

Google is planning a series of celebratory events for closer to the fifth anniversary of the public launch of YouTube in October 2005.

Google bought YouTube in a 1.65-billion-dollar deal about 19 months after the online video-sharing service was founded in February of 2005.

The Internet giant has been carefully transforming YouTube into a money-making stage for enjoying works ranging from backyard videos to independent films.

"YouTube has the potential to be a very instrumental part of Google's future TV plan," said Gartner technology analyst Allen Weiner.