Mountain View, California-based Google has begun allowing developers to make it easier to log in to non- Google Web sites, with a test program using the open source universal Web identification system called OpenID, the Internet giant announced Wednesday. By backing the OpenID Web sign-on initiative, that seeks to make it easier for people to manage usernames and passwords for multiple online destinations, Google joins early-adopter Yahoo along with Microsoft, which began its own implementation of the system earlier this week. Lending Heavyweight Support To Universal Login Initiative The OpenID 2.0 digital identity framework, created by Brad Fitzpatrick, a former founder of LiveJournal and most recently a supporter of Google's OpenSocial platform, allows users to consolidate separate login information into one decentralized and free OpenID account which instead provides a single identification  system for all Web sites supporting the standard. The OpenID program has no centralized repository managing identities, and allows users to choose which Web sites they want to trust with their sign-on information. While Google OpenID account holders will be able to automatically sign-on to all of the existing Web sites fully supporting the standard, those already holding an OpenID, or who sign up for one at a non-Google Web site, will not be able to go in the reverse direction and use their OpenID to sign-on to Google services, although Google has hinted that it is working to eventually allow for such two-way implementation of the system. Microsoft and Yahoo have taken similar approaches to their implementations of OpenID. Zoho And Plaxo Already Using Google Test OpenID Implementation Eric Sachs, a member of Google's security team, said that developers wishing to test the OpenID implementation unveiled Wednesday could request access to the limited trial using a registration form on the Google Web site. "Starting today, we are providing limited access to an API for an OpenID identity provider that is based on the  user experience research of the OpenID community," Sachs said in a message posted Wednesday on the Google Code blog announcing the OpenID test program. Some Web sites have already begun using the new Google OpenID system, including online application firm Zoho and social networking company Plaxo, Sachs said in the Wednesday announcement. "Websites can now allow Google Account users to login to their website by using the OpenID protocol," Sachs said. The initial limited test was expected to lead to a more widespread implementation of OpenID at Google. "In the future, this should allow a Web site to immediately provide a much more streamlined, personalized and socially relevant experience for users when they log in to trusted Web sites," Sachs added. Google Joins Microsoft And Yahoo In Testing OpenID Single Sign-on System As an example of how the OpenID system would work with Google, Sachs explained how a third-party Web site could first validate the identity of a Google account holder by sending them to Google for logging in, and then return the user to the site with full credentials as if they had signed up with a separate new account there, without the hassle of remembering an additional set of login details. Both Google and Microsoft have held seats on the board of the OpenID Foundation, which began in 2007, yet until this week they had not offered developers the code and means to access and implement OpenID. Other large technology companies are also involved with the OpenID Foundation, including IBM. Board members at the foundation also include executives from Yahoo and VeriSign. Some 10,000 Web sites are presently using the OpenID login system, a number that is expected to rise significantly as both Google and Microsoft refine and conclude testing the systems they launched this week. Undoubtedly a significant victory for OpenID, Google's support as the most used search engine site worldwide may go a long way toward pushing forward a technology that was until recently considered by some a technophiles pipe dream. Related Links :
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