Google+ Hangouts Adds Sounds Effects Like Applause, Laughter

Google+ Hangouts is becoming an even more fun place to be. Hangouts is great since it's the only free mainstream group video chat out there. Its fun side is covered by things like moustaches or antlers that you can lay on top of any video stream.

Now, it's adding sounds to the mix. You can add applause, crickets, laughter and so on, to spice things up. The feature should be live now, you'll find the sounds in the Google Effects section.

"Thanks to the Google Effects app, people have added reindeer antlers, and pirate hats, and moustaches to their live video feeds in Hangouts :-) Today we're updating the app with a new source of entertainment: sound effects," Google's Amit Fulay wrote.

"Now you can cue the applause when someone's being awesome, gong them when their time's up, or play a laugh track when you're feeling funny. There's a dozen different sound effects to choose from, so hang out and have some fun!," he said.

The sounds are also available to developers, so any app making use of the Hangouts API 1.2 can include any of the standard sounds. You will need the latest version of the Google Talk plugin to get this feature though.