Following the launch of browser sidebar Sidewiki, Google released 100,000 invitations for its new product Google Wave this week.

Here’s how the Official Google Blog previously explained GW:

“In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It’s concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content – it allows for both collaboration and communication.”

The LA Times has looked at the applications of GW for journalists, suggesting the tool could enable more collaborative reporting; more discussion around an article (not elsewhere on a site’s messageboards, for example) and a better way to track editing changes.

Full story at this link…

Meanwhile for those that haven’t got an invitation (or are wondering what all the fuss is about) Tech Digest has come up with five websites/apps to explore while you wait.

The site is also reporting that Wave invitations are being sold on eBay – real or fake, the asking price is pretty low if you’re desperate for one…