What is Google+?

Search engine giant Google has just announced its Google+ social networking platform that's set to rival Facebook. Well, that's the plan anyway. Google doesn't have a particularly strong history when it comes to
social networking services with both Google Wave and Google Buzz failing to catch on, but if the demo is anything to go by, it's investing a lot of time and money into making its latest venture a potential Facebook killer. Should Mark Zuckerberg and Co be worried? We took an in-depth look at Google+ to see what it brings to the table.

What is Google +(plus)?

Developed under the codename Emerald Sea, Google+ is basically Google's latest attempt at creating a social network. Google is cannily calling it a "project", rather than a "product" - perhaps to avoid comparison with its less successful social products. Google reckons that current online networks (no names mentioned) simply don't cut the mustard and that's why it's launching its own version. According to Google's official blog:
"Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools.

"In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it."
The idea is to topple Facebook from its throne by making every existing Google product socially compatible. The company certainly has a lot to work with, including Picasa, Gmail and Google Maps and information and functions from all of these will be integrated into the Google+ experience so that you don't have to sign into different services to share your photos and let your mates know what you're up to.