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Google Sites Offers Collaboration Tools for Web Docs

Google on Wednesday said it was moving into new Microsoft territory, launching a new Web-based software program that offers Web site collaboration tools called Google Sites, which will compete with Microsoft's SharePoint software. Sites will become part of Google's applications suite, which includes email, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, and a daily calendar. Like these other products, Sites will be free and requires no installation, maintenance or upgrades.

Microsoft's CFO Christopher Liddell said SharePoint has become a $1 billion per year product. Small potatoes for a company the size of Google and Microsoft, right? As part of a suite of free computing services tools, Sites will help make Google Apps a more complete product so it can effectively compete against Microsoft Office, which is one of the software giant's biggest moneymakers.



Initially the product will be aimed at business users and will part of Google's enterprise group. Says David Girouard, VP and general manager of Google enterprise, "It's our biggest launch since Apps itself launched."

Read the whole story at The New York Times »

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