Google Inc's Chief Executive Eric Schmidt has claimed that his companys top priority in 2008 is to make money from its YouTube video-sharing site.

"I don't think we've quite figured out the perfect solution of how to make money, and we're working on that. That's our highest priority this year," Schmidt said in a CNBC interview this week.

Discussing new methods of generating advertising revenue from YouTube, Schmidt added: "We believe the best products are coming out this year. And they're new products. They're not announced, adding that these new products would be "much more participative, much more creative ... much more interesting in and of themselves."

Concern over Microsoft-Yahoo

Schmidt also voiced concern about the possible Microsoft Yahoo buy-out, claiming that such a combined company would limit user choice in e-mail and instant messaging applications.

"It would be possible for Microsoft to integrate some of the properties and essentially eliminate consumer choice, particularly in electronic mail, instant messaging, the things where they have 80 or 90 percent market share, and that's a sweet spot for Microsoft in its ability to eliminate choice, Smith said.

Google's shares immediately rose 4.7 percent following the interview.