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Stephen Shankland writes about a wide range of technology and products, but has a particular focus on browsers and digital photography. He joined CNET News in 1998 and since then also has covered Google, Yahoo, servers, supercomputing, Linux and open-source software, and science. E-mail Stephen, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/stshank.

So where will Google direct its attention?

Well, Google has said it’s confident of its cash position and ability to weather the storm. Also, a down economy is a good time to get better terms out of start-ups and to take on traditional venture capitalists who are leery of new investments during a time when it’s hard to extract funds from existing ones that no longer look so hot for acquisition or an initial public offering.

Contrarian Google launches investment fund

As expected, Google launched Google Ventures on Monday, following other Silicon Valley firms with a division to invest in promising start-ups.

Venture firms are relatively common among bigger Silicon Valley companies. During the fast-rising valuations during the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s, companies often found their investments doing better than their ordinary business. But the appetite for risk soured along with the economy.

Earlier Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported Google will fund the effort with $100 million in its first year.

Last week, Google announced an investment in Pixazza, an e-commerce company that hopes enlist profit-minded individuals to label photos on with sales-lead tags so they, Web site publishers, and Pixazza can generate revenue from online imagery. At the time, Google said it wasn’t yet ready to discuss Google Ventures.