(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Google is set to introduce a spreadsheet program, continuing the Internet search leader's expansion into territory long dominated by Microsoft.
Although it's still considered a work in progress, Google's online spreadsheet will offer consumers and businesses a free alternative to Microsoft's Excel application, a product typically sold as part of the Office software suite that has been a steady moneymaker for years.
To avoid swamping the company's computers, Google's spreadsheet initially will be distributed to a limited audience.
Google also wants more time to smooth out any possible kinks and develop more features, said Jonathan Rochelle, the product manager of the new application.
The company said it plans to begin accepting sign-ups for the spreadsheet through the 'labs' section of its Web site.
Rochelle wouldn't specify how many people will be granted access to the spreadsheet application.
Google's spreadsheet isn't as sophisticated as Excel. For instance, the Google spreadsheet won't create charts or provide a menu of controls that can be summoned by clicking on a computer mouse's right-hand button.
Rochelle said the program's main goal is to make it easier for family, friends or co-workers to gain access to the same spreadsheet from different computers at different times, enabling a group of authorized users to add and edit data without having to email attachments back and forth.
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