Google is expected to add Twitter-style status updates to its Gmail webmail service as soon as this week.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, users will be able to see status updates as well as uploads to photo sites such as Google's Picasa or videos from YouTube.
Such social networking attributes have already popped up in rival webmail services from Yahoo and Microsoft, while Facebook recently redesigned its homepage.
Google this summer unveiled Wave, an email and collaboration tool that features social networking aspects. While the limited availability of invites at its launch initially drew much excitement, it's since been met with confusion and hasn't taken off the way Facebook or Twitter have.
A Google spokesman said the company had no comment.
Click here for our guide to Twitter for business.
