Running contrary to its core business mission of pioneering a web-based world, Google has said it will release software that can be used offline.

Dubbed Google Gears, the offline software will allow users to work with applications such as email, online calendars and news readers while offline.

"The web is great but it doesn't work very well when you don't have a web connection," Jeff Huber, Google's vice president of engineering, told Reuters. "Gears addresses a functional gap on the web."

The software will be available for free.