Google Wave, the web-based communication and collaboration tool that sparked a firestorm of anticipation when it was announced last year, is now available for general release.
Google has been testing Wave, which aims to promote collaboration and improve productivity, with developers and other invited users for about eight months.
Wave is an online communication and collaboration tool that aims to make real-time interactions more seamless - in one place, you can communicate and collaborate using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.
Last year's announcement of the application was greeted with excitement in many corners off the web.
However, that initial excitement soon faded.
Google strictly limited access to Wave, and that meant many who were testing the communication tool didn't know anyone they could communicate with.
And those who did appeared to have difficulty explaining what the new tool might best be used for.
Google Wave head Lars Rasmussen said at a press conference this week the company realised it needed to do a better job of explaining Wave.
Last year, Google offered an hour-long preview of what the technology could do.
"But we failed to answer the question of 'what can I actually use Wave for, right now, right here'," he said.
After a few months of testing, the answers have started to emerge.
"It's clear from the invaluable feedback we've received that Wave is a great place to get work done, in particular for teams working together on projects that involve lots of discussion and close co-ordination," Google Wave product manager Stephanie Hannon said in a blog post.
"If you tried Google Wave out a while ago and found it not quite ready for real use, now is a good time to come back for a second try," she said.
"Wave is much faster and much more stable than when we began the preview, and we have worked hard to make Wave easier to use."
