Google Inc. has applied to provide video and internet services around Kansas City, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Few should be surprised that the company is expanding the reach of its services. Since launching as a search engine in 1998, Google has ventured into virtually countless technology pursuits, including online maps, cell phone operating systems, web browsers and various software, as well as prototypes for a driverless car and even sunglasses slated for a 2013 release that emulate the concepts popularized in the film "The Terminator."

Now, the company is moving forward with plans for Google TV, which could be launched in Missouri as soon as this spring, the WSJ reported. Residents around Kansas City can expect the launch to be accompanied by Google's planned high-speed Internet service, which also is scheduled to launch this year.

An article in the New York Post said the service would include live TV and "on demand" viewing, and would rival services provided by Time Warner Cable. The service is expected to launch in an undisclosed neighborhood in Kansas City, MO before the end of June.

Internet-based television is far from new, with fellow technology giants such as Microsoft and its Xbox 360 as well as the Apple TV, among others, providing various video services streamed online with the help of partnerships with groups such as Netflix, YouTube and ESPN.

Google's plans, however, appear to be on a different scale, in part because the video content would stream through Google's own internet service, allowing for greater product control and potentially greater revenues. The news also marks yet another expansion from a company that recently has been criticized for crossing ethical boundaries.

With the potential to become the area's next major internet and TV provider, Patch asks its readers ...