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Earlier today search engine giant Google has launched its own URL-shortening service to compete with the likes of Bit.ly & TinyURL.com

The Google URL Shortener can be reached at the custom URL goo.gl. Although the service is currently limited to Google Toolbar and Feedburner users not yet available for broader consumer use the web service could be expanded in the Future.

"With character limits in tweets, status updates and other modes of short-form publishing, a shorter URL leaves more room to say what's on your mind - and that's why people use them," a Google spokesman wrote on the Google blog.

"Currently, Google URL Shortener is only available from the Google Toolbar and Feedburner. If the service proves useful, we may eventually make it available for a wider audience in the future," he continued.

At the moment, the two most popular URL-shortening services available on the web are m00.me, TinyURL.com and Bit.ly, although security experts have warned that they can be exploited by cyber criminals.

Spam e-mails containing shortened links have been used in the past to direct internet users to illicit web sites that may have been obvious traps if the real URL had been used.

A Spokeswoman from the New York Times commented on the new Google web service and called it "a direct attack on Bit.ly".

However, shortly after Google's announcement on their blog, Bit.ly revealed that it would begin creating custom URLs for a number of major clients, web sites and publishers, including The New York Times (at nyti.ms), The Wall Street Journal and even Microsoft's search engine Bing.