The password-protected site lets users store medical records typically kept in a doctors' or dentists' office in one central platform.

Users can create their own medical history file, find a doctor and explore online health services. There is also a "virtual pillbox" which notifies patients when they need to take medications.

Google Health is currently only available in the US but a spokesman for Google told Web User that the company is "interested in making the service available to as many people as possible".

However, as each country has different rules and regulations concerning privacy about the ways medical records are stored electronically, the process of opening up Google Health to other countries could take some time.

Google Health also lets patients schedule appointments, refill prescriptions, receive medical results online, and instantly add their doctors' email addresses to their contacts list.

Google is not the first to introduce a personal health website - Microsoft launched its service HealthVault last October - but it too is geared to US surfers.

www.google.com/health

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