Comedian Will Ferrell and his pals are laughing all the way to the bank, and the honchos at HBO seem to be laughing right along with them. The cable network has purchased a stake in the two-year-old comedy website and ordered 10 half hours of original programming.

According to a Daily Variety report, HBO's stake in FunnyorDie is less than 10 percent, but it could potentially include partnering on live comedy tours and a possible branded programming block on an HBO subsidiary.

The half-hour programs will air on HBO, but there is no word yet on what they will be about. Ferrell, one of the founders and co-owners of FunnyorDie, said the shows could be stand-alone features or multiple episodes revolving around the same characters.

"We do know we want it to be in the same family of the comedy that we're doing on the website -- just a wide range of anything from a funny offbeat talk show to a maybe more-traditional-type sitcom to a show with puppets," Ferrell said.

FunnyorDie launched in April 2007, featuring comedy videos created by Ferrell and his pals and serving as an alternative to the homemade videos and short clips found on YouTube. Viewers can vote on the videos, created by and sometimes starring Ferrell and his partners Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Judd Apatow. The site draws an average of 3.2 million unique visitors a month.