Google+ Pseudonym Support Imminent; 3.4bn Photos Uploaded Says Gundotra

Google+ will soon enable the use of pseudonyms on the social network, Google's Vic Gundotra has confirmed, one of a number of enhancements addressing common complaints by existing users. Speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit this week, where he was joined by surprise guest Sergey Brin, Gundotra revealed that users' ability to use names others than their legal title would be permitted very soon, in a loosening of the previous real name ID policy. Meanwhile, Google+ for businesses and Google App support is also imminent.

Currently, only personal Google accounts can be used with Google+, rather than the Google Apps accounts many businesses use. That will change in just a few days, Gundotra promised. Google+ support for business pages would follow on in the coming weeks, allowing organizations and firms to set up fanpages similar to those already established on Facebook.

That's likely to spark another rush of membership, as companies attempt to carve out their own space on the social network. Although Facebook continues to lead in terms of number of active users, Google+ is apparently growing fast. Gundotra announced that over 3.4 billion photos have been uploaded in just 100 days.

Earlier this month, Google rolled out real-time search and hashtag support on Google+, allowing users to browse and discover content more quickly and effectively. The service threw open its doors to general sign-ups at the tail end of September, having previously been invitation-only, and while Google has not released up to date membership figures there have been estimates suggesting around 43m are registered. Gundotra did reveal that, after free sign-ups were allowed, 40m sign-ups took place.