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Google's desktop search tool brings the familiar Internet search product to a users own desktop. Once installed, the Google tool will index a computer's hard disk in the background. Hence, search results will now include files from your own computer above those for a normal web search.

One of the hottest areas for search this year has been multimedia files. Yahoo has launched its video search tool while Google has somewhat bizarrely indexed the content of TV programmes. The release version of the Google desktop search includes audio files such as MP3, WMA and WAV, images including JPG and GIF and video such as AVI and MPG by their meta tags.

There is also the beginning of a third party plug-in movement, which has proved popular for open source software like Mozilla, for the tool. Add-ins include the ability to index OpenOffice and StarOffice documents, IRC chats and intranet webs sites.

Given that Google has now hired Ben Goodger, the lead engineer for Firefox, it comes as little surprise that the Google Desktop search includes wide ranging support for open source products. Users can now look for web pages viewed using the Netscape 7+, Mozilla and Firefox browsers, as well as index and search email received via Netscape and Mozilla Mail and Thunderbird.

The announcement and launch of Google's desktop search tool back in January caused consternation among its rivals in search. Until then, the general feeling was that desktop search tools would be several years away and probably wouldn't debut until the release of the next 'Longhorn' version of Windows in 2006. Following the release however, search rivals felt compelled to introduce their own offerings. Within weeks, there were announcements from MSN, Yahoo and Ask Jeeves for their own offerings. Other companies like AOL and Apple have also been mulling a desktop search product.

However, the tool has not been met with unalloyed joy. Although the company denies it, here has been concern that the tool would effectively allow Google to spy on the contents on a user's desktop. This ability may only be for the purposes of collating anonymous data to improve the product. However, it could also be used to server contextual ads based on the private file you are viewing. More seriously, it might be used by an organisation like the RIAA to detect illegal downloads.

The desktop tool can be found at desktop.google.com.