Google (News - Alert) followed through on its recent pledge to pare down its products and refocus its development initiatives by announcing that it will close the doors to Google Labs, a website that lets users toy around with early prototypes.

The move comes just days after Google CEO Larry Page (News - Alert) said that the company will look to streamline and simplify its product line. In addition to its Labs playground, Google has also announced the closing of it Google Health and Google PowerMeter initiatives.

“While we’ve learned a huge amount by launching very early prototypes in Labs, we believe that greater focus is crucial if we’re to make the most of the extraordinary opportunities ahead,” Bill Coughran, senior vice president for Research and Systems Infrastructure, noted in a blog post.

The shuttering of Google Labs comes as a bit of surprise, considering the incubator has been credited with a number of popular products, including Google Reader and Google Maps.

Coughran said that while most of the experiments in Google Labs will meet their end, some will be incorporated into different product areas. In addition, Android (News - Alert)-focused Lab products will continue to remain in the Android Market.

Google must have been flooded with user inquiries into the move, because Coughran updated the post three hours later to confirm that its in-product experimentation channels – such as Gmail Labs or Maps Labs – will continue to generate new ideas for Google's chief products.

Whit Andrews, an analyst with Gartner (News - Alert) Inc., said that the move signifies a significant change in the way that Google addresses innovation.

“This is sending a message to investors and consumers that Google has core businesses, and those will be what get served,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It means that it will be less likely that you'll create something cool and see how it works. This means we need a business goal and a business direction.”

Google engineers can rest easy though. The company's famed “20 percent time” – which allows Google employees to spend one day a week working on projects outside of their job description – will continue to be honored.

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Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell