SMH.com.au
A screenshot of Google's Wave real-time communication tool.
Google has opened Wave to the general public after eight months of invitation-only beta testing.
Australia-based Google Wave team chief Lars Rasmussen announced the "opening" at the internet giant's annual developers conference in San Francisco.
"Wave really shines as a place to get work done," he said.
The company has claimed the product developed by the same Sydney team responsible for Google Maps has potential to turn email into a powerful tool for collaborative exchanges and ramp up productivity. But early interest in the product's beta launch quickly cooled off amidst uncertainty on how to use it to its full potential.
Wave merges email, online chat, social networking and "wiki" style group access to web pages or documents. It allows anyone in the exchange to edit documents, add digital content, or comment on others' work at any time.
"You can have 12 people interacting in a Wave at the same time without people talking over each other or stepping on each others' toes," D'Alesandre said.
Google Wave product manager Gregory D'Alesandre made his case late last year that Wave would help "liberate" workers from constraints of old-fashioned ways at firms.
"We really believe this is a better way to communicate; [it's] where technology is going."
