Google now grants you to associate non-Gmail accounts with your Google account. Why does this matter? Well, by associating other e-mail accounts, invites such as events for your Google Calendar will be automatically added, even when sent to a non-Gmail account. Also, you get the benefit of using your non-Gmail address to log into Google instead of your Google credentials.

So where is this tiny feat accomplished? If you sign in to “My account” on Google, and hit “edit” by personal information, a dialog that allows you to add additional email addresses should be visible below your usual info. If you try to add other Google addresses you’ll quickly be denied, convenient as that would otherwise be. Once you add an acceptable address, you’ll have to verify your account via a tiny confirmation email sent to your non-Gmail account. Then you’ll be set.

Functionality at this point, in terms of synchronicity, still seems limited to Google Calendar. But hopefully this will be expanded to other Google services that grant sharing and invites. Considering that we have the ability to already use Gmail to check and send email from non-Gmail accounts, this brings us just a little closer to having our non-Google accounts behave as if they were.

[via Google Blogoscoped]