Few products have matched the excitement and the hype surrounding Google Wave, the search company's ambitious realtime communication platform. Some believe Google Wave will replace email, while others think it could flop.

We already know that beginning September 30th, 100,000 invites to Google Wave will be released. But that's a full two months away - what if you just can't wait anymore to get your hands on Google Wave?

One developer couldn't wait either, so he took the code from the Google Wave API and transformed it into an open-source version of Google Wave, called PyGoWave. Don't get your hopes up yet though; this version isn't quite like the real Google Wave.

An overview of PyGoWave

PyGoWave (@PyGoWave) is essentially a rudimentary open-source Google Wave server. It doesn't use the original Google Wave code (it will be open-source in the near feature), but uses the Google Wave API to create a test version of the product.

The project actually started late last month, but has been picking up steam as features are still being implemented. This is very important: PyGoWave is not a full-featured version of Google Wave, nor does it have the Google Wave interface. It does have access to a slew of Google Wave gadgets and extensions, though (read Google Wave Extensions: An Inside Look for info on extensions).

As soon as you look at PyGoWave, you can tell it's not the same interface. Here's a screenshot of a wave within PyGoWave:









And here's a screenshot from the official Google Wave sandbox:









Don't expect to get the full functionality of Google Wave in PyGoWave (i.e. it's really hard to start a Wave conversation), but you do get to try out some of Wave's best features, primarily Wave Gadgets, as almost all of the gadgets available in the sandbox version of wave can be accessed in PyGoWave, including Maps, Wave Rating, and even a Wave Reading app. Even cooler, you can download them all.

In fact, you can download PyGoWave itself and run it on your own server, since it is an open-source project. It features downloads and even a wiki for getting started and setting up a PyGoWave server.

It's not wave, but we're getting closer

Let's be clear: PyGoWave is not the open-source version of Google Wave. It's an early approximation of the open-source version, based on the Google Wave API. It's still not completely usable and is riddled with bugs, but so is Google Wave itself.

We are very appreciative of the PyGoWave team for undergoing this difficult project. People are very excited about Wave, and the more we learn about it, the better. The team also promise to keep building up the tool's features and improving its usability, meaning you can expect it to become cleaner and more usable as time goes on.

Everyone can access this open-source project, so if you want to try your hand at PyGoWave, sign up and then post your username in the comments below. For the next 30 minutes, I'll add commenters to to the Mashable Test Wave.

More Google Wave Resources from Mashable