Google said Thursday it is buying a Spanish photo-sharing website that lets people pin pictures to the Internet search firm's online maps to show where they were taken.

Google and Panoramio have been allies for months, using the Spain-based company's technology to let photographers "geo-locate" pictures by linking them to points on Google Earth maps where they were created.

While the companies' technical teams will merge, the Panoramio facilities in Spain will remain in operation, according to Google.

Google said that the purchase is pending and it is too early to say precisely how Panoramio will be integrated into the company.