Google Inc. recently announced the launch of Google Pack beta, a free collection of softwares from Google and various other companies.

The Google Pack was announced at the same time as the company promoted its new paid-for video download service that will compete with Apple's iTunes. The Google Video Store service, announced but not yet launched, will provide commercial video content such as television programmes, from providers such as CBS, the NBA and Independent Television News.

Google Pack offers some of the most preferred programs in the internet community, including, Adobe Reader 7, Ad-Aware SE Personal, GalleryPlayer HD Images, Google Desktop, Google Earth, Google Talk, Google Toolbar for IE, Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar, Norton AntiVirus 2005 Special Edition, Picasa and RealPlayer.

The Pack also includes Google Updater, a new tool that intelligently downloads, installs and maintains all the software in the Google Pack. Google Updater alerts users when updates and new programs become available and ensures each program is always up-to-date. It can also be used to monitor the status of installation, run software that's been installed, or easily uninstall software.

"We've heard from countless new computer owners that it can take days or weeks to install all the software they need to make their computer useful," said Marissa Mayer, VP of search products and user experience at Google. "We developed Google Pack to give users a way to painlessly install all the essential software they need - pre-configured in a sensible way - in a matter of minutes. Better yet, users don't have to keep track of software updates or new programs – we maintain and update all the software for them."

Google Pack beta is available in English, runs on Windows XP, and supports Firefox 1.0 and higher, and Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher.