I am not surprised that Google will be charging users of its Google Apps for Your Domain, as revealed by the Business Week:

 After months of dancing around with Web versions of e-mail, group calendars, and the like, Google Inc. (GOOG ) is finally about to take a big leap onto Microsoft’s turf. Since last August, the search leader has offered a test version of an online office productivity software suite, called Google Apps for Your Domain, that lets companies offload e-mail systems to Google while keeping their own e-mail addresses.

I know, it’s part of Google plans in monetizing its technology.

Currently, Google Apps for Your Domain includes:

• The start page  -  A central place for your users to preview their inboxes and calendars, access your essential content, and search the web.
• Gmail  -  Offer email to your users with 2 gigabytes of storage per account, search tools to help them find information fast, and instant messaging built right into the browser.
• Google Talk  -  Your users can call or send instant messages to their contacts for free — anytime, anywhere in the world.
• Google Calendar  -  Users can organize their schedules and share events, meetings and entire calendars with others.
• Google Page Creator  -  Create and publish web pages for your domain quickly and easily with this what-you-see-is-what-you-get page design tool.

And we’re also expecting that their newly acquired Google Doc and Spreadsheets will added to these services:

Soon, it’s expected to add word-processing and spreadsheet services to the suite, which includes an online calendar, chat service, and Web page builder. In coming weeks, Google Apps will turn into a real business as Google begins charging corporations a subscription fee amounting to a few dollars per person per month. “We’re dying to use something like this,” says Brandeau. He’s “on the cusp” of signing a contract with Google. (ibid)

Okay, if you’re interested of this, you better sign-up now because according to its Terms of Services:

Organizations accepted by Google during the Google Apps for Your Domain beta period are eligible for free service for their approved beta users even beyond the end of the beta period, as described in the Terms of Service.

It’s now your chance to use this application without paying something.

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