On the other hand, critics say, it's the latest in an effort to catch members of the public off-guard and opt them unwittingly into sharing details of their lives.

The new terms, which cover 60 services with one document and take effect March 1, make clear just how integrated that Google's many services, from search to Maps to social networking via Google+ and photo sharing via Picasa, are, and how behavior on one affects the other.

Share and Share Alike

As the Mountain View, Calif., search giant works to spread adoption of its Facebook-rival Google+, it has begun adding updates to users' search results, to the consternation of critics who say the posters didn't intend for their updates to be shared outside the network, even with people they are connected to.

Google will launch an e-mail campaign to inform users about the changes and has already launched an ad campaign to educate the public about online privacy.

But authorities in Europe expressed wariness over the changes, and James Steyer, CEO of San Francisco-based Common Sense Media, said the announcement "is pretty frustrating and potentially frightening from a kids and family and teenager standpoint and an overall consumer privacy standpoint," according to The Washington Post. The paper also said the Federal Trade Commission, which has been locking horns with Google and Facebook over privacy concerns, would also look at Google+, according to its sources.

'Make Services Even Better'

The stakes are high as not only Google and Facebook, but other major players in modern technology vie to be the primary portals to the Internet both at home and on-the-go. At the end of the rainbow is a multibillion-dollar advertising...