May 27, 2011 13:41 GMT  ·  By

Google has updated its Google Scribe application and has added several new features to make it more useful. Google Scribe's main claim to fame is its auto-complete feature which suggests words as you type. It's based on Google's suggest features that are also available in Google Search.

Some of the updates include automatically creating text for links when you add URLs to your document, a smart hover toolbar and support for 12 more languages for its suggestion feature.

"Since Google Scribe's first release on Google Labs last year, we have been poring over your feedback and busy adding the top features you asked for. Today, we're excited to announce a new version of Google Scribe that brings more features to word processing," Kartik Singh and Kuntal Loya, Google Scribe team, announced.

The aim of Google Scribe is to enable users to type faster buy providing word suggestions before they've finished typing, but also through other means.

One example just introduced is that Scribe now automatically creates text for any link you add, normally you would type the text, select it and then add the link.

Another shortcut to enable you to write faster is the new hover toolbar which shows up whenever you select something. Normally to format the text you'd have to head over to the toolbar up top.

Having a smaller toolbar with just a few options show up near your mouse could save you a few seconds and it all adds up in time.

Google Scribe is now available in more languages, it now supports 12 more languages on top of English, namely: Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

The latest version of Google Scribe also adds preliminary support for spell checking, but also detects punctuation and phrasing errors.

Google Scribe is a very interesting tool, but it's not going to become your word processor or choice any time soon. For one, it has nowhere near the polish Google Docs or a native app have.

Even if it did, fast typers will probably write faster without the suggestions and autocomplete features anyway. With some refinements and speed improvements though, along with an adjustment period, many users may find that they're typing faster, if less original text with Google Scribe.