Google has made its Groups online tool official with a range of new features.
One of the main additions is a much closer alignment with Gmail. Not only can you browse messages from groups to which you are signed up in the Gmail web client, but messages within Google Groups itself are organised in the same way, gathering all messages from a conversation into a single thread.
Google Groups also lets you create web pages and other resources, such as a knowledge base to which members can view and contribute, making collective knowledge easier to access.
Users can also create other resources such as libraries of files that can be uploaded and shared within the group.
The interface itself is customisable for look and feel, and member profiles can include photos and quotes within them.
Google Groups also claims the world's most comprehensive archive of Usenet postings, dating back to 1981.
