Here's a look at some of the company's for Web users.

: Simply enter any search term you want to monitor, choose one of five categories (News, Blogs, Groups, Web, or Comprehensive), and set your inbox to receive alerts once a day, once a week, or "as-it-happens". I chose the last option for two different terms and received my first alerts about an hour later. You can easily save or delete specific alerts, as well as change their frequency or turn them off altogether.

: View images of catalog pages scanned as part of the Google Base service, which lets people add their own information to Google's databases. Most of the catalogs are years old, and few big-name directories are present (five-year-old Hickory Farms and Crate and Barrel catalogs are typical). Many are from small, regional companies, heavy on boating and fishing items, specialty foods, and other niches. You can't order products online, either; instead you call the toll-free number displayed prominently to the left of the catalog pages. If only the information on the grainy, scanned pages were as easy to read. Fans of catalog shopping will likely be disappointed with the service's offerings.

: Create your own search engine in your area of expertise, or use the creations of others. If you roll your own engine, you can place it on your own site (even customize its appearance to match that of your site), or add it to Google's list of custom sites and invite others to suggest sites to include in your engine. I created a search engine in just about 15 minutes.

: This service lists sites of interest in various categories, A la mid-1990s Yahoo, Northern Light, and Magellan. Directories seem particularly anachronistic on Google, since keyword searching has replaced such hierarchical lists of topics. However, Internet directories help people unfamiliar with a subject learn more about it without having to know which specific words to search for. In other words, if you're not sure what you're looking for, Web directories such as this one may help you find it.