Google has launched a preview version of Wave which features live typing in messaging.

Google has launched a preview version of Wave – a new communications and collaboration tool which could re-invent traditional email and instant messaging.

A “wave” is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

Starting today (Wednesday 30 September) Google is sending out more than 100,000 invitations to preview Google Wave – to developers who were involved in the developer preview in June, the first users who offered to give feedback, and select customers of Google Apps.

The early users will also be able to nominate five people to receive invitations so that their friends, family and colleagues are able to join in. 
Google Wave was first unveiled back in May, and since that time many features have been tweaked, and this latest preview is intended to iron out any final issues before its consumer launch early next year.

Creator Lars Rasmussen, a Software Engineering Manager, who, alongside his brother Jens, was the brains behind Google Maps, said: “It struck us that e-mail is still the main communication tool on the web, which seemed remarkable given that it is 20-year-old technology.”

The software enables participants to reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process – the playback option also lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

“If you are planning a trip, you can talk about it and plan it in Wave and then share all the photos at the end,” said Product Manager Stephanie Hannon.

Google Wave runs in most browsers, with the exception of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE), despite developers working “very hard” at trying to make it compatible. IE users will have to download a plug-in, known as Chrome Frame to use the application, however Microsoft does not recommend installing this plug-in, claiming it compromises security.

Much of the code for Wave is written in HTML 5, the next-generation of web language.

For more information about Google Wave, click here.