Google launches toolbar feature developed in Israel

Google Related automatically pops up a toolbar along the bottom of the screen, which displays additional information, locations from Google Maps, Google Images pictures and YouTube video clips related to the topic of the search.

By ROY GOLDENBERG / GLOBES
Google office 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Google office 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Google Israel’s development center was behind Google Related, Google Inc.’s new toolbar feature that was launched Tuesday and provides information about related websites. It is available on Google’s Chrome toolbar and can be installed on Windows Explorer. Currently it is only available in English.
Google Related automatically pops up a toolbar along the bottom of the screen, which displays additional information, locations from Google Maps, Google Images pictures and YouTube video clips related to the topic of the search.
Results will remain minimized until selected, when they will open up immediately on the browser window, eliminating the need to open multiple new windows or tabs.
The built-in +1 button enables the information to be shared.
“If you decide you’d rather not see the Related bar, you can easily hide it for specific pages and sites through the Options menu,” Google Related development-team manager Ran Ben Yair wrote in Google Blogs. “If you use Related as part of Google Toolbar, you can disable Related entirely through the Options menu as well.”
Since Google Related effectively informs Google about the Web address a user is on, as well as the user’s IP address and other personal information that can be used to offer related content, some users may decided to forgo the option.