Google allows users to create edit documents online
MIL/Agencies, Mar 11, 2006.
Google Inc. has acquired a startup that allows users to create and edit documents online, potentially taking aim at Microsoft's dominance in word processing. It is another feather in its cap to benefit its users.
The company, Upstartle, is based in Portola Valley and is the creator of Writely, a service that is now available as a test to a limited number of users.
With Writely, users can create documents in their Web browsers, invite others to collaborate on the contents and store the documents privately on a remote server. In addition to its sharing features, the service's selling point is that the documents can be accessed from different computers.
Users can create new documents in Writely or convert existing Microsoft Word and OpenOffice documents, among others. Those documents can then be published online or shared with a limited audience.
Google of Mountain View declined to disclose the terms of the acquisition or how the service would be integrated. Writely is currently free, but a version with extra features may be available in the future for a subscription fee.
Microsoft dominates the word processing market with Word. But Google has shown increasing interest in challenging the Redmond, Wash., software giant by offering products online that Microsoft makes available only through downloads onto desktop computers.
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