Google Wave, released earlier today, is already generating a lot of buzz, and for good reason: it's a potential game changer in the realm of of email, IM, and project management. But there a few key features that really speak to Google Wave's potential. Specifically, the fact that it is open-source and can be fitted with extensions and applications.

Today, the Google team showed off a few extensions for their new communication platform. One of the most interesting ones, though, was Twave, a Twitter extension for Google Wave. The integration makes sense: Google Wave and Twitter are both forms of real-time communication, so why not bring them together? The result, though, speaks to the potential applications of Google's newest product. Twave is an extension based on a Google Wave robot, which is an automated participant in a conversation. It is basically how an extension can perform tasks within Google Wave - in this instance, a Google robot, named "Tweety." The result is a full stream of your Twitter feed within Google Wave. Not only can you see tweets, but it looks like you can manage them like you would email, with replies, archiving, and even Google Wave's awesome playback feature.







There were several other great extensions and robots that were demonstrated today. Here's just a few of the coolest ones:

- Debuggy: A robot that responds with debugging information about each event on a wave - Stocky: Automatically detects stock quotes and provides real-time stock information - Bloggy: Pushes wave content to a blog - Maps: Allows for collaboration on a Google map to plan events - Bidder: You can turn a Wave into your own eBay - Ratings: All Wave participants can rate and review items - then it will show you a tally of the results.

These innovations are only the beginning of the many additions that developers will build for Google Wave. The web is truly transforming into a real-time engine, and Google Wave + Twitter is only the beginning. Not only can we expect a slew of great Twitter applications within Google Wave, but some really innovative use of Google's new real-time conversation platform.

Update: We've included another screenshot, this one showing a little more of what the Twave and Google Wave robots can do in general.







