Google is bundling a variety of existing services that allow organizations to tap email, calendar, instant messaging and Web-page creation services. Offerings in the package are based on Google's existing free consumer versions of those applications. For small businesses and individual franchises, your staff can now have the following for free:

• Free web email that uses your domain name. e.g. donbshaei@dunkinkreme.com (Emails come with an ad.)
• Shared Internet calendar (useful for many b2b franchises)
• Instant messaging
• Web page creation

And the future? Move over Microsoft because online spreadsheet and word processing is coming. To compete, Microsoft is testing an Internet service targeted at small businesses called Office Live, which includes email, Web page hosting and group calendar services.

[via Startup Journal]