Google just announced a big change that, as far as I can tell, no one was asking for except perhaps the people who run Google+, its failed Facebook clone ubiquitous online identity service.

Starting Friday, the company is rolling out a feature that lets anyone with a Google+ account send emails to Gmail users, and vice versa, unless the recipient has opted out. Here's how a Google product manager explains it:

Google+ users can now send emails to your Gmail even if they don't know your address.

"Have you ever started typing an email to someone only to realise halfway through the draft that you haven't actually exchanged email addresses? If you are nodding your head 'yes' and already have a Google+ profile, then you're in luck, because now it's easier for people using Gmail and Google+ to connect over email. As an extension of some earlier improvements that keep Gmail contacts automatically up to date using Google+, Gmail will suggest your Google+ connections as recipients when you are composing a new email."

Here's what that looks like: