Zoho provides online applications  ranging from a word processor and spreadsheet to conferencing and collaboration tools.

Although that puts it in competition with Google Apps, it hasn't stopped Zoho from being among the first developers to take advantage of Chrome's brand-new extensions  capability.

The company has come out with two extensions: the Zoho Companion for Google Chrome and the Zoho Notebook Companion for Google Chrome.

The former provides an always-on connection to Zoho and enables Chrome surfers to use the Zoho apps to access non-Web files they might come across. For example, if a webpage or search result has a link to an Excel file, the link will show a little "View in Zoho" popup that opens the file in the Zoho spreadsheet without requiring a download.

The Companion also provides real-time feedback on documents you might be sharing and on new messages in your Zoho Mail inbox.

The Notebook Companion likewise provides instant access to Zoho's online note taker. The user can save text clippings, screenshots, and other Web content right to Notebook and annotate it without leaving the page they're on.

The extensions are both available through the Chrome extensions gallery . According to a Zoho spokesperson, they should work with both the Windows and just-released Linux versions of Chrome. (Chrome does not yet support extensions for the Mac.)