That was quick - from 'under the radar' to a rumored acquisition by one of the most active buyer of media assets. photobucket apparently is closing in on a $250 million exit

While hardly known outside the youthful world of social network sites, Photobucket has become wildly popular with users for providing free, online storage tools for multimedia self-expression, from photos to videos to digital slideshows. Site builders turn to it for images to decorate their sites.

The four-year-old startup, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has signed up 41 million registered users, up from 32 million at the end of last year and 2 million in 2004. It now hosts nearly 2.8 billion images on the site.