Google could once again be interested in acquiring Digg, according to a report on ValleyWag.

While the rumor of Google's interest in Digg is nothing new, a post last week from Kara Swisher on All Things Digital leant credence to the idea. Swisher speculated that Digg could be the starting point of Google's larger strategy to beat back Microsoft.

So why Digg? For one thing, Digg has an ad deal with Microsoft, making a Google acquisition a nice way to jab at a rival. But beyond the money, Digg would give Google valuable insights into news aggregation. While Google News is popular, the search giant hasn't been able to figure out how to monetize that traffic.

But despite all the talk of an acquisition, Digg-watchers have been down this road before. Several times in fact. Most recently, both Google and Microsoft were rumored to be bidding for Digg. That was back in March, but nothing came of those rumors.