Projects That Started in the Labs

Google Labs is, for all intents and purposes, a research and development (R&D) lab. The intent is to create new products and services that can be launched publicly within the Google universe. Granted, some of these projects are more theoretical than others and eventually fall by the wayside. But many Google Labs projects have graduated into fullblown products and services that are now presented alongside Google's more established offerings.

Which Google services first saw life in Google Labs? Here's a short list:

• Google Desktop. Search data on your computer's hard disk

• Google Glossary. Look up definitions for specific words

• Google Groups 2. Create and join topic-specific discussion groups

• Google Maps. View maps and driving directions

• Google News Alerts. Receive email alerts when new news stories appear online

• Google Personal Homepage. Create your own custom start page

• Google Personalized Search. Get search results more relevant to you

• Google Scholar. Search scholarly journals and articles

• Google Search by Location. Restrict your search to a specific geographic area

• Google SMS. Search Google via your mobile phone

• Google Video. Search and download TV programs and videos

• Google Web Alerts. Be notified of new web pages that match your search criteria