Dubbed Google URL Shortener, the service aims to make it easier for people to share links online, especially on micro-blogging services like Twitter. Although bit.ly dominates on Twitter, Google may be planning to compete.

"If you're not familiar with them, URL shorteners basically squeeze a long URL into fewer characters to make it easier to share with others," Google software engineers wrote in a company blog. "With character limits in tweets, status updates, and other modes of short-form publishing, a shorter URL leaves more room to say what's on your mind -- and that's why people use them."

Google Security and Speed

Google didn't specifically mention competing for mindshare on Twitter in its announcement. Rather, the search giant focused on Google Toolbar and FeedBurner users' ability to access a tool that makes it faster and easier to share, post and e-mail links. But Google hinted at the robustness of its service, which could be a precursor to broader competition.

Google URL Shortener is built on Google's global infrastructure. That, the company said, means the service is stable, secure and fast. For example, Google automatically checks shortened URLs to detect potentially malicious sites and warn users against them.

"Google URL Shortener is not a stand-alone service; you can't use it to shorten links directly. Currently, Google URL Shortener is only available from the Google Toolbar and FeedBurner," Google engineers said. "If the service proves useful, we may eventually make it available for a wider audience in the future."

Bit.ly Bites Back

Despite Google's soft sell, bit.ly isn't taking any chances. On Monday, the company rolled out bit.ly Pro, a service that provides custom short URLs for publishers and bloggers who want to use their own short domain names to point to pages on their sites. As part of the beta program, bit.ly is making custom URLs available to companies including AOL, Bing, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal Digital Network.

"Users and publishers benefit from the additional transparency that this private-label service provides. When you see a short URL like nyti.ms, you know the destination web site before clicking on the link," said Todd Levy, a team member at bit.ly. "The service includes all the bit.ly features users and publishers have come to expect."

Levy said placing a simple "+" at the end of any bit.ly link takes users to real-time information about that page and how it is being shared. For example, users can see how many people clicked on that particular link and where they came from. He said the service also allows publishers to keep their brand visible while maintaining access to bit.ly statistics. (continued...)

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