The Federal Trade Commission this week approved Intel's purchase of McAfee, Intel announced.

"The Federal Trade Commission has concluded its review of the proposed McAfee transaction and has cleared it," the company said on its investor relations site. "We are continuing to work with the staff at the European Commission as they continue their review."

In August, Intel announced that it would acquire McAfee for a staggering $7.68 billion. Intel said at the time that security is now a major issue within the company, but "today's security approach does not fully address" many of today's new Internet-connected devices, including wireless devices.

When the deal is closed, McAfee will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Intel, reporting to Intel's software and services group. It will be managed by Renée James, Intel senior vice president and general manager of software and services.

James said earlier this year that she expects to introduce an Intel-McAfee product in 2011.

In a December 16 statement, McAfee said it is "excited about the transaction and the opportunity to improve security for internet-connected devices. We believe that the combination of Intel and McAfee will prove important in achieving breakthrough innovations in security and look forward to discussing in more detail our product plans and strategies after the transaction is closed."

Analysts said that Intel's purchase will add a "third pillar" of security to its product portfolio, generating the possibility of short-term product combinations and a longer, more fully-formed integration of security. Not surprisingly, the deal received a mixed reaction from the security community. For more details, see what PCMag Security Analyst Neil J. Rubenking had to say about the McAfee-Intel matchup back in August.