Google Desktop swings onto Linux

Mountain View (CA) - Google Desktop was made available for Mac computers earlier this year, and now the computer search tool is available for Linux users.

Google Desktop brings Google-esque searching to computer hard drives, letting users find documents, media files, and other content, as well as a one-click search to access e-mail stored on Google’s Gmail server.

Specially designed for Linux is the ability to search for specific source codes and related information inside PDF, PS, MAN, and INFO documents. The open-source office suite OpenOffice.org is also part of Google Desktop’s universal search.

The PC tool first hit Windows-based computers at the beginning of 2005. Recently, the search giant has moved to expand its presence on other operating systems, launching an official Google Mac blog this year to announce Mac versions of Picasa, Google Gears, and Google Desktop.

Google says the application is compatible with "many versions of Linux," and is available now from Google’s website