A report by The Wall Street Journal says that Google is planning to offer consumers a new way to store their files online, rather than on a single PC, in a move that could accelerate a shift to web-based computing and intensify the rivalry with Microsoft.

Google's massive data storage capabilities would be expanded to let individuals store their data on its computers, including word-processing documents, digital music, video clips and images. This would expand the range of services and users currently using Google Docs and this new service could let users access their files via the Internet from different computers and mobile devices when they sign on with a password, and then share them online with friends.

The article says that this new service could be released as early as a few months from now, although Google have not confirmed this. It is also expected to provide some free storage, with additional storage available for a fee, although no pricing information has been released. This would mark another step in Google's move to tackle Microsoft's monopoly of the PC market and will raise more issues of privacy, as well as the acceptance by many users of Google's expanding dominance across many online services.