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Google Apps for Your Domain combines Gmail, Google Talk, Google Calendar and Google Page Creator into a custom, branded interface. Organisations can choose to include all or just some of the four services, with Google planning to offer versions of Google Apps for Your Domain that tailored for specific kinds of organisations, from family websites and community groups, non-profits, small businesses, universities, large enterprises and ISPs.

Domain administrators use a Web-based control panel to manage their user account list, set up aliases and distribution lists and enable the services they want for their domain. End users with accounts that have been set up by their administrator simply browse to customised login pages. The service is designed to scale easily to accommodate growing user bases and storage needs while drastically reducing maintenance costs.

The service is currently a free beta and interested organisations can apply at Google Apps for Your Domain . Supported browsers comprise Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Netscape.

'Organisations of all sizes face a common challenge of helping their users communicate and share information more effectively,'

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said Dave Girouard, general manager, enterprise, at Google. 'A hosted service like Google Apps for Your Domain eliminates many of the expenses and hassles of maintaining a communications infrastructure, which is welcome relief for many small business owners and IT staffers. Organisations can let Google be the experts in delivering high quality email, messaging, and other web-based services while they focus on the needs of their users and their day-to-day business.'

The launch Google Apps for Your Domain suite marks Google's intent not to be muscled out of the Web services market by Microsoft. The software giant has already begun grouping together its various MSN-branded products such as Messenger and Hotmail under the Windows Live label and will follow that with a Office Live, an online version of its ubiquitous business software suite.

Google plans to counter that by integrating Writely and Google Spreadsheet, its Web-based business applications, into Google Apps for Your Domain at some stage, Girouard revealed.

'It really is intended to be a platform, he said. 'One of the fundamental benefits of the software as service approach is that you can just turn on new features over time.'

But he denied that Google was looking to challenge Microsoft in one off its core business markets.

'This platform isn't by any means an alternative to Windows,' Girouard said. 'We are not really out there to eliminate any applications. We are looking to introduce new ways to solve problems people have been having for years.'