Google+ opens up to the public

Google has opened up the internet giant’s social platform Google+ to the open public after three months of ‘field trial’ testing.

"Google+ is still in its infancy, of course, but we’re more excited than ever to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software," wrote Google engineering chief Vic Gundotra on the Google blog.

"Today we’re releasing nine more features that get us that much closer," added Gundotra with a number of the new features relating to the firm’s video conference feature ‘Hangout’ including Android mobile client support and the ability to broadcast hangouts to a wider audience.

Google also launched a new search feature for Google+, perhaps the most surprising omission from a company built on the back of internet search. Google’s previous Buzz social offering also offered search.

Google’s new Google+ search "will return relevant people and posts, as well as popular content from around the web," Gundotra said.

Billed as the "100th new feature", Google+ is now available for sign up to the general public.