Have you caught the Google Buzz yet?

Got the Buzz yet? If you've got a Google account, you probably have. Although, you might not realise it yet.

Buzz - www.google.com/buzz - is Google's latest big idea.

It's a bit like Facebook, but inside your email. It does many of the things that Facebook does, and does them fast. It lets you share stuff with everyone you know via Gmail, and with everyone else in the world via the web. It's a very exciting idea.

If that sounds familiar, that's because it is.

Only a few months ago, Google announced something that did the same sort of job.

It was called Google Wave - wave.google.com.

Wave was strictly for invitees-only. Invitations were few and far between, and internet users were clamouring to get their hands on them.

The Buzz launch couldn't be more different.

Buzz has been added to almost every Gmail account in the world, and almost overnight.

Buzz works like Facebook in that you are connected to people you know.

What can you do with Buzz? Share photos, links, videos, all that stuff. Have conversations.

What's interesting is that everything you do on Buzz appears on your Google Profile page - which effectively becomes a Buzz-powered blog.

Buzz ends up being a kind of glue - grabbing all the web stuff you do with Google and sticking it together in one place.