Another day, another lovely new Google service for the Poorhouse to evangelise about...Today, it's Google Notebook. Launched just a couple of days ago, it doesn't seem to have the instant grab of Gmail, image search and the other more high-profile members of the G-suite, but it has already proved most useful for the Poorhouse.

Simply put, it's an access-anywhere web notebook. Maybe you need to make a shopping list, do a bit of research, list a few good web addresses or just write a few to-do notes? Do it in the notebook, and wherever you log on to the Internet from next, there it is, waiting for you.

To get the best from it, you need to use IE6 or Firefox whereby it integrates into your web browser. You can write what you like in it but it's supercool for web browsing. See something interesting in Amazon? Select the text and/or picture, right click, choose "Note this", and it gets inserted into your notebook together with a link to the page so you'll remember where it was from.

If you don't use those browsers, you can still access it from the web site but it's much less handy. Either way, you may have several notebooks, each of which can contain several sections for ultimate free-text organisation. You may also elect to share your notebooks so that your nearest and dearest can have a little browse of your inner thoughts.

This is probably just a taster of what is to come. Google is always adding new bits and pieces to its services. A ZDNet blogger already discovered references in the code to suggest that image uploading, HTML editing, Gmail integration and gadget inclusion is on the cards.

Somehow it is impossible to make anything called "Notepad" exciting and it's hardly the most original of concepts (sites such as Clipmarks have long offered similar facilities, but it is quite handy, honest. Although it's yet another reason to worry about Google knowing absolutely everything about you. If you sign up to the Google way, it already knows who you write to, what you say, what you search for, your schedule, what you buy and now it knows your inner thoughts. Somehow, despite being nasty ol' capitalists, their shiny new lovely wonderful "Do no evil" image is working for them though, Google having just won top vote on a Britain's favourite brands survey. In case anyone's interested the most hated was Pot Noodle.