Google, Intel and Sony are developing Google TV to bring the Web into the living room through a new generation of televisions and set-top boxes.

The Google TV software, based on the Android operating system, which was designed for smartphones. It will allow Facebook, Twitter, and other social media into the TV. It’s open source, so manufacturers of device and TVs can design it into their products. Google encourages developers to invent new applications.

Google will have a toolkit for outside programmers within two months. Logitech is building a remote with a very small keyboard for Google TV. We could see products based on Google TV software in a few months.

I have a $80 Roku Box for streaming Netflix movies. It is terrific at what it does. I use it just to stream movies from Netflix, but it can also access videos from Amazon, MLB.com and a few other sites. It’s not everything I’d want, but I believe some kind of box like this will soon be giving us a lot more than movies. And that box could well be Google TV.

The Google TV software will be able to search the Internet as well as watch YouTube videos, TV shows from Hulu.com, keep up with Facebook, Twitter, download games and more.

Many other companies are chasing the same rabbit. These include Cisco Systems, Motorola, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, TiVo and start-ups like Roku and Boxee. This giant corporate battle could lead the way to convergence of the web and TV.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google and Dish Network are testing a TV program search.

For more information see
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/technology/18webtv.html