The growth in video downloads could create an internet traffic jam that threatens the net’s development, according to Google. Services such as YouTube, which is owned by the Californian giant, are proving tricky for internet providers to deal with and new developments could create even more problems, senior internet executives were told yesterday. ‘The web infrastructure – and even Google’s – doesn’t scale,’ said Vincent Dureau, Google’s head of TV technology. ‘It’s not going to offer the quality of service that consumers expect.’ Surfers around the world already use sites such as YouTube to watch videos online, but video filesharing services are increasing pressure on the internet’s capacity. One of the unwitting culprits is BitTorrent, a technology already used by millions of people to obtain high-quality video over the net. Many people use it to download episodes of US TV series such as Lost, which have yet to be shown in the UK, or to see concert footage. But BitTorrent has proved controversial with Hollywood because many people also use it to download movies illegally. Later this month the system’s creators are expected to launch a legitimate movie download site in conjunction with some major studios. […]