Google+: New Google Social Network Heavy on Privacy and Social Circles (VIDEOS)

Google is giving this whole “social” thing another shot, and this time they just might have a keeper.

Last night, the search giant unveiled its new Google+ project.

Google+ is built around your Google Circles (called +Circles) and lets you selectively share with specific groups within their personal network, rather than sharing with all of their social connections at the same time.

The company seems to have made Google+ heavy on privacy features, and that’s a good thing. It hopes you will decide to use Google+ instead of more popular favorites like Facebook and Twitter.

“In real life, we have walls and windows and I can speak to you knowing who’s in the room, but in the online world, you get to a ‘Share’ box and you share with the whole world,” says Bradley Horowitz, a VP of product management at Google.

By giving you more control over what’s being shared, Google+ wants to make the online sharing experience more secure and personal.

In addition to Google Circles, the new Google social network will also let you add interests, video chat, share content via mobile phone, and many more features that most social networking fans will recognize.

According to Google, though, Google+ isn’t a social network. It’s rather an ongoing social project that combines numerous social services into a convenient service.

Google is testing the service with a limited focus group right now. If you want an invite, you sign up at the official Google+ site here. You can also take the tour here.