Google recently announced that presentations have been added to Google Docs, enabling users to create, import, collaborate, and even show their presentations online. But how does this new addition to Google Docs stack up against the par for the course, Microsoft Powerpoint?

As the official announcement highlights, this release continues in line with the primary aim of Google Docs: the elusive "collaboration" hole-in-one. Much like the word processor and spreadsheet applications already available in Google Docs, users can now invite others to work on presentations together or publish their work online. Invitations can also be sent from the presentation mode, which sports a nifty chat window but lacks a true full screen option. It's no Big Bertha: the slide editor does include 15 themes, but missing are many advanced features, like animations and text effects. I was able to import a fairly straight-forward presentation just fine; noticeably absent, however, is the ability to export.

I will gladly add Google Docs presentation to my bag, as the collaboration and sharing features will surely come in handy. But unless I need to create (or show online) very basic presentations, I am going to keep Powerpoint and OpenOffice.org Impress as my main drivers.