• Reuters, Wednesday, October 4, 2006 11:30 AM

Google's second major announcement of the day is that it's making it easier to add hundreds of miniature programs to independent Web sites, which means that users no longer have to go to Google.com to download its programs. "Instead of making people come to Google, now Google can be found everywhere," said Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li of the push to make its programs widely available throughout the Web. Google competitors like Apple and Yahoo also make these mini-applets or "gadgets" available to users who have installed special software on their computers. Google Gadgets, which have been available on Google.com for some time, will now be available to Web page owners to add to their sites.

There are some 1,220 of these small bits of code, which function like dynamic applications when installed on a Web page. However, less than 24 of these applications are made by Google; most are built by outside programmers seeking distribution. So what, exactly, is on offer? Miniature lookups for applications like Google Maps or Google Calendar; also, applications providing financial information, sports results, communication tools, jokes, horoscopes, even Tetris. To add any of these gadgets, Web publishers only need to locate the HTML source code of each program and insert it into their own Web sites, using standard Web publishing tools. "This is part of the movement to make the Web into a platform rather than forcing users to rely on desktop software," Li added.

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