Web monster Google is planning to expand its presence in the telephony space using its 2007 acquisition of GrandCentral as a platform.

GrandCentral Communications offers users a single, lifetime phone number that can be linked to any number of up to six phones or accounts, allowing users to select which callers go to which phone – work, home, mobile – as well as providing a central mailbox for all services, which is available to access online. Different voicemail greetings can be set for different callers.

Under the new moniker of Google Voice, GrandCentral is also offering a suite of new features to private beta testers. Forthcoming features include call screening; listen in before taking a call; block calls; send, receive, and store text messages; call US numbers for free; direct calls to any of your phones; call forwarding; conference calling; record calls and store them online; switch phones during a call; access your inbox from your mobile; voicemail transcripts; personalised greetings; receive voicemails via email or SMS.

It is understood that Google Voice will begin accepting new subscriptions within the next few weeks, although there is believed to be a long waiting list to get onto the service.

Google is already making significant waves the mobile space via its handset platform Android.