Google Spreadsheet is now Live, According to Rueters relies Google Spreadsheet on technology the company acquired from a small Wall Street software developer it bought last year called 2Web Technologies, which in 2004 introduced tools to convert Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into Web services. Users interested in experimenting with the application can go to Google Labs (http://labs.google.com/) to sign up Today (Tuesday June ‘06). An undisclosed number of users can join the initial trial phase on a first-come, first-served basis. Hurry now

It is another step from Google to get into the list of online web applications. Google stepped into Online Office with acquisition of Writely, an online word processor. Though time will speak how Google Spreadsheets competes with already exisiting spreadsheet applications like iRows, DabbleDb , JotSpot, ajaxXLS. Google spreadsheets will have a very usefull advantage over these as Google offers realtime chat option with it.

Few highlights :

Create basic spreadsheets from scratch.
You can start from scratch and do all the basics, including changing the number format, sorting by columns, and adding formulas.

Upload your spreadsheet files.
Upload spreadsheets or worksheets from CSV or XLS format - all your formulas and formatting will come across intact.

Familiar desktop feel makes editing a breeze.
Just click the toolbar buttons to bold, underline, change the font, change the cell background color and more.

Choose who can access your spreadsheets.
Just enter the email addresses of the people you want to share a given document, and then send them a message.

Share documents instantly.
People with whom you share a given spreadsheet can access it as soon as they sign in.

Edit with others in real time.
Multiple people can edit or view your spreadsheet at the same time as you - their names will appear in an on-screen chat window.

Edit from anywhere.
There’s nothing to download; you access your spreadsheets from any computer with an Internet connection and a supported browser.

Never lose your work.
Online storage and auto-save mean you need not fear hard drive failures and power outages.

Easily save and export copies.
You can save your spreadsheets to your own computer in CSV, XLS and HTML formats.