Google has announced it is launching a new tool that will directly link internet browsers to properties for sale .
The new property-listing tool, which is being added to Google’s mapping service (Google Maps), will flag up available properties and allow users to click through to estate agents websites.
Google is launching the initiative in Australia, with free property listings provided from the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia and website homhound.com.au.
The move will see the search giant challenge online property companies such as Craiglist and Findaproperty, which generate revenue from classified advertising, in an attempt to grab a bigger slice of the property search business.
The technology behind the tool was developed by engineers at Google's Sydney office and is also being rolled out on the company’s existing property search service in the US.
A spokeswoman for the search giant, however, said there are no immediate plans to launch property listings on Google Maps in the UK.
Google product manager Andrew Foster said the decision to launch the new service was partly driven by research showing that people are increasingly using the internet to search for properties to buy or rent .
He added that the number of estate agent -related queries on Google rose by 35 per cent in the year to February 2009.
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