Google, the world's most popular internet search engine, may soon become the world's most popular telephone service.
The web giant has launched a new service called Google Talk, which allows users to make free telephone calls to anywhere in the world via the internet.
In effect it would mean overseas and long-distance calls could be made free, provided you have an internet connection. This should slash telephone costs to near zero, leaving only the internet service costs.
But don't rush to sign up for the service just yet. Announced yesterday, the company said the service will initially be supported only in the US. It has no timescale in place yet for a global roll-out, a company spokeswoman indicated.
Internet-based telephony is already available from companies such as pioneers Skype. The real significance of the announcement is that it comes from a company that is already an internet powerhouse. Only last week Google surprised Wall Street with the announcement that it would raise an estimated €3.28 billion in a new public offering. Analysts immediately concluded that the Silicon Valley company's second share issue meant it was building a war chest for a sizeable acquisition or planning large capital investments.
Now the thinking is the money will be used to further Google's diversification from a search engine provider to a communications company.
The attractions of free telephony will certainly represent a draw to consumers, particularly when the company is a household name like Google. There are a few requirements to make the system work, however. The first is having an internet service provider and connection. This could be a wireless radio connection, though most internet users are connected over their telephone lines which attracts a telephone bill.
The second requirement is that Google Talk will initially only work over the company's e-mail product, Gmail. Only Gmail account holders will be able to access the service, although becoming an account holder requires no more than a mobile phone as proof of identity.
Once users are on Gmail they can begin to make voice calls, send e-mails or dispatch instant messages to friends. Calling friends requires having a microphone and speaker, with speech signals being converted to a digital form that can be dispatched over the internet.