Google has officially launched a competitor to Dropbox, Microsoft's SkyDrive, and other cloud sync and backup services, known as Google Drive and offering 5GB of free cloud storage.

IT arrives in the same week that Microsoft launched SkyDrive for Windows; a Windows application that adds a synchronised folder to Windows Explorer and Apple’s Finder and allows files to be synced across the cloud.

It also added capability to access files stored on the drive from an iPad as well as the iPhone and Windows Phone-based handsets.

Existing users of Windows SkyDrive are being offered a free upgrade to 25GB of online storage, while new users get 7GB. There are paid SkyDrive plans of 20GB, 50GB, and 100GB for $10, $25 and $50 per year respectively.

However those who are happy to store files in multiple cloud repositories can easily gain free access to hundreds of gigabytes by signing up for accounts from an ever growing list of new services. LogMeIn is another to launch a service called Cubby that offers unlimited file transfers between peer-to-peer computers with 5GB of free storage.

The Google Drive client runs on PC, Mac, and Android devices (with iOS support promised). It adds a local folder to your PC that syncs files located on Google servers and integrates with an existing Google Apps account.

It also promises to scan images and PDFs for keyword matches using OCR.

According to the Google Drive announcement, the service will provide Google Apps administrators with tools to centrally manage users, and data will be encrypted during transfer from your local PC to Google servers.

There will be an option for 2-step verification to prevent unauthorised account access by asking users to sign in with a secure code from their mobile phone.

Google is also promising that data will be replicated in multiple data centres to ensure files are always available with a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Google Drive also promises the ability to open over 30 file types in your browser without requiring the program to be installed on your PC, including high definition video, Adobe
Illustrator and Photoshop files.

DocuSign has announced an integration of its eSignature solution with Google Drive to allow users to send documents for signature from any browser or mobile device.

Google Drive users can add the DocuSign app from the Chrome Web Store and create a new account or link to their existing DocuSign account. The first ten documents a user sends for signature are complimentary, after which subscription plans start at $US14.95
per month.

Another application launched by a company called nivio allows Google Drive users to open and edit Microsoft Office files in their Google Drive with full access to Microsoft Office 2010
applications in any HTML5 browser, on any connected device.

“This is the best of both worlds – a safe place for your files with Google Drive storage and your favourite Microsoft Office 2010 apps – all available anywhere and everywhere,”
said Sachin Dev Duggal, founder at nivio.

“With just one click, Google Drive users can now open and edit their Microsoft Office files the way they were meant to be opened – inside the real application. This is just one way
nivio brings the magic back to computing. It is also the start of a very powerful relationship with Google.”

The nivio for Google Drive app enables users to open and edit Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Project, and Visio files by simply right-clicking and choosing nivio from the menu. The file will instantly open within a browser and changes to files can be saved in the user's Google Drive.