Google buys Web-based word processor Writely

NEW YORK: Internet search leader Google Inc. has acquired Upstartle, a small startup that runs a collaborative word processor inside Web browsers, according to a posting on Google's official press site on Friday.

Upstartle runs Writely.com, which helps people access and edit documents from any computer on the Internet. The company's programs also help people post Internet blogs, publish Web documents and work with multiple authors to edit a piece of writing.

Internet blogs writing about the acquisition including ZDnet said it represented a new challenge by Google to Microsoft Corp.'s office suite business. Upstartle was founded in 2004 by a group of three engineers and is based in Silicon Valley.

Terms of the deal were not available. Google officials could not immediately be reached for comment.