Google has announced a new service that aims to compete in the social networking space, to take on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. The Google blog has outlined the new service, which is currently limited to Gmail users or through a mobile phone app. Initially the service is being made available to Google's existing network of contacts through Gmail although the longer-term goal is for Buzz to be a fully open and distributed platform for conversations.

Gmail users will see a new option in their mailbox which will allow them to share information with other contacts, including photos, videos and links. There is an option to share publicly or privately, although Google will also present users with recommended comments or links from other people that are deemed to be relevant. On mobile phones, Google Buzz adds the component of location to the information being shared, so that posts tagged with geographical information have an extra dimension of context.

Of course this launch will attract worldwide media coverage, as usual with any significant new service from Google, and many will see this as an attempt to directly compete with the type of services being run by Facebook, Twitter and the like. Microsoft and Yahoo also say they have been running services like this for some time, so it's nothing new, so it will be interesting to see how widely this new option takes off against the existing tools now being used.