Msnbc.com is going "hyperlocal" with a new acquisition. The online media company is buying EveryBlock, a Chicago-based website that offers news and information down to the neighborhood level in some 15 cities. EveryBlock lets users type in an address, neighborhood name or zip code and get nearby news coverage, blog posts, civic data, photos and other information.

Msnbc.com, a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal, has been experimenting more with local news coverage lately. The news site has been providing months of granular coverage of the town of Elkhart, Indiana, documenting how local residents and businesses there are coping with the economic recession.

EveryBlock's coverage area includes its hometown of Chicago as well as Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. Terms of the msnbc.com acquisition were not disclosed. EveryBlock, which has a staff of five, will continue to operate under its own name.

I tested EveryBlock by typing my own zip code in Northeast Seattle, and got back a bunch of local data sets, including building permits, business reviews, city press releases, fire department 911 dispatches, liquor license actions, land use bulletins, media references, local deals, real estate listings, restaurant inspections, and Flickr photos.

EveryBlock has "broken new ground with their unique approach to collecting, organizing and presenting news down to the block level," said Charlie Tillinghast, president of msnbc.com, in a statement. "Their impact and importance in the community space is extremely valuable and carries promise for journalism and new business models.”

Msnbc.com acquired its first startup, Seattle news sharing service Newsvine, in October 2007.