Unsurprisingly, Google appears to be making Google+ part of its account creation process, so that users sign up for Google+ when they sign up for Gmail.

Unsurprisingly, Google appears to be making Google+ part of its account creation process, so that users sign up for the social network when they sign up for Gmail or a generic Google account.

Google has also made Gmail and Google+ the two main entry points to the Google network, with signup links offered there but not Picasa, for example. Users can use the old format if they sign up with Blogger or other Google sites. On Friday afternoon, a Google spokesman said the process has been in place since November.

"We're working to develop a consistent sign-up flow across our different products as part of our efforts to create an intuitive, beautifully simple, Google-wide user experience," the Google spokesman said. "Making it quick and easy to create a Google Account and a Google profile enables new users to take advantage of everything Google can offer."

Google has traditionally touted its integration across it services; Picasa photos can be shared with Google+ users, and YouTube users can also collaboratively watch and comment on a YouTube video on the Google+ social network.

"Your Google Account is more than just Search," Google said. "Talk, chat, share, schedule, store, organize, collaborate, discover and create. Use Google products from Gmail to Google+ to YouTube, view your search history, all with one username and password, all backed up all the time and easy to find at (you guessed it) Google.com."

Google Wallet, however, is listed as a feature that will be available "soon"probably indicative of an outdated page.

The new signup process was discovered by the Google Operating System blog, which noted that, although Google asks for a mobile phone number, it's not required.

Although Google+ still lags behind Facebook's 800 million users or so, Google's social network is on the rise; Google executives revealed Thursday that the network now has , up from 40 million in October, with notables such as signing on.

"Google+ total U.S. visits reached more than 49 million in December, a 55 percent increase from November 2011," .