Google Inc said on Thursday that five US universities have signed on for its Internet-based applications including e-mail and instant messaging. Google's relationship with the universities gives it a wider audience for applications that compete with Microsoft Corp popular programs.
Google Apps Education Edition is a free service for e-mail, online calendars, documents and spreadsheets. Schools newly signed on to the program are University of North Carolina Greensboro, Clemson University, University of Texas San Antonio, Kennesaw State University and Arkansas State University, Google said.
Universities that already use Google's programs include the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Trinity College in Dublin and Nihon University in Tokyo.