Walaika K. Haskins, newsfactor.com.

For the hordes of the ultra-organized for whom the columns and rows of a spreadsheet are as familiar as air, Google has launched a new application. The release of the Web-based Google Spreadsheets furthers the Internet search giant's foray into territory long considered the primary domain of Microsoft.

Released initially as a trial to a limited set of test users, Google Spreadsheets, when opened to the general public, will enable anyone with something to categorize or calculate create a basic spreadsheet with functionality similar to that available in Microsoft Excel.

However, unlike Excel and in typical Google fashion, Spreadsheets stores its files online, seamlessly.

At present, Google Spreadsheets is a very basic application that can only import or export Excel documents as well as documents in the Comma Separated Value (.csv) format.

The application has some 200 functions and prebuilt formulas that can be accessed through familiar-looking toolbars. Editing the spreadsheets takes place in real-time with multiple people able to view and alter the same documents at the same time.

While many bloggers, analysts, and other industry observers are pointing to the new application as yet another significant indication that Google is moving further into Microsoft's turf, some are treating the news with a bit of skepticism.

"The threat [against Microsoft] has always been there, and adding a spreadsheet just crystallizes it even more," said Charlene Li, an analyst at Forrester Research. "But let's be realistic. This is a very simple, basic spreadsheet. You can only use it online."
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