Most of you will have used Google to carry out a search of the Internet for a specific piece of information.  In fact, the famous search engine will no doubt soon cause a further entry into the English language – the verb “to Google”!

There is no doubt that the search engine has been innovative and consistently performs its functions extremely well.  It is now taking the technology it uses to provide an easier method of searching the Internet for that obscure piece of information.  It has just launched a new tool called the “Deskbar” that enables you to carry out a search from within any application, without stopping to run Internet Explorer or Netscape. 

You can download the beta version of the Deskbar application from here:

http://toolbar.google.com/deskbar/index.html

The download file is relatively small (about 413Kb) and when installed (by clicking on the file downloaded), it takes you through the process of making the bar visible and places it on the taskbar at the bottom of your screen (or you can launch it by using the keyboard shortcut (CTRL+ALT+G). 

It will work with Windows versions 98/ME, 2000 or XP.  Once installed, you simply type the search term into the search window on the deskbar and hit the search button.  It then produces the results of its search in a re-sizable window.  Clicking on any result within the search, displays the relevant site within the Google window.  The window automatically closes when you move your mouse back to your application.

This may not be revolutionary, but does make searching for that fact or piece of information easier, as you do not have to leave your current application.