Finally, an answer as to how Google is going to help online publishers monetize video assets, just like they do now with blogs: AdSense for video, where publishers of online video can choose streaming video ads, and also select where they appear in their online videos.

The pilot program, announced Wednesday on the AdSense blog, is closed, according to the Google blog entry. (Anyone who is participating who wants to talk, contact us via comments below!) The AdSense for video effort follows closely on the heels of Google experimenting with inline ads on YouTube, a story Liz scooped out a couple weeks ago.

From the Google blog, the reasoning for the AdSense program:

This pilot represents our continued efforts to address the challenges faced by publishers who want to monetize their video content, by advertisers who want access to quality video inventory, and finally by users who want ads to enhance their video watching experience, not detract from it.

Hey, anything that gets rid of pre-roll is a step forward in our book.