Google Buzz's launch is mostly viewed as a failure, despite the service apparently having several million users, largely due to the Gmail integration. But Google is putting it behind and is still working on fixing the flaws the rushed launch exposed. At the same time, it's also working on expanding the service and possibly offering some integration with its 'friend-finder' and location broadcasting service Latitude.

The launch of Google Buzz, which offers some pretty interesting location tools and options in the mobile version, has made plenty of people wonder about Latitude's future. The location service hasn't been particularly successful and, with the feature overlap, Latitude could be viewed as redundant.

That is not the case, says Steve Lee, product manager for Google Maps, for mobile and Google Latitude, in an interview with eWeek. The two products are distinct, are aimed at different use-cases and will continue to exist separately. However, this doesn't exclude some sort of integration between the two.

"Latitude is a friend-finding app. It's about a user continuously sharing location," Lee said. "Google Buzz is about creating conversations, and keeping up-to-date with friends and keeping your friends up-to-date about you," he added.

"Down the road, there might be points of integration between Buzz and Latitude, but they are separate products and have different use cases." He didn't provide any details on what the integration would look like, but said, "We're thinking of what apps we can build that have certain compelling use cases and how can location enhance those apps."

This time around, though, Google has to thread very lightly. If there's anything that the Buzz launch proved, it is that people still care about their privacy, even online, despite what Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg would have you believe. Latitude has seen its fair share of controversy as well and merging the two products seems like a recipe for disaster if not done properly.