The global strategic alliance between Google and Salesforce.com just got stronger.  The two companies have teamed up to offer a package called Force.com for Google App Engine, which is supposed to help developers create new applications in the cloud.

Force.com for Google App Engine is free, and consists of tools and services designed to bridge some gaps between the cloud computing platforms.  Force.com has many of the business aspects covered, while Google’s got a big developer community with more of a social focus.

 Tom Stocky

Tom Stocky, a director of product management at Google, discussed the desired result in a statement.  "At Google, as at salesforce.com, we are committed to enabling developer success with cloud computing," he said.  "Bringing together Google App Engine and Force.com will foster the creation of new Web applications and further demonstrate the power of the Web as a platform."

You may have to use your imagination from there – it seems that the only application example available so far involves a slot machine game – but the partnership sounds promising enough.

More collaborations between Google and Salesforce look likely, too, although the companies didn’t indicate in what direction they might be heading.