Adobe, maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop, launched a free basic version online Thursday.

Photoshop Express will be completely web-based, so people can use it with any type of computer, operating system and browser. Once they register, users will be able to get to their accounts from different computers.

While the registration form cites availability for U.S. users only, a spokesperson from Adobe's Canadian press relations firm told CBC News the service is currently open to Canadian users.

While the full version of Photoshop is designed for trained professionals, Adobe says Photoshop Express, which it launched in a beta test version, is easier to learn. User comments will be taken into account for future upgrades, it said.

San Jose, Calif.-based Adobe Systems Inc. says it hopes to boost its name recognition among a new generation of consumers who edit, store and share photos on the internet.

'This is the battlefield where Adobe and Microsoft and Google are going to fight.'— Kathleen Maher, analyst

Web-based software is increasingly popular, and Adobe knows it's got to get on that train, said Kathleen Maher, an analyst at Jon Peddie Research. "This is the battlefield where Adobe and Microsoft and Google are going to fight some pretty big battles."

Many kinds of software are available for use online in a trend known as "software as a service," or "cloud computing." Photoshop enters the online photo-management arena many years after such services first appeared. The earliest were e-mail programs, but they now include services to create and manage content and even whole operating systems.

Google Inc. provides a host of such services, as do Microsoft Corp. and others. Some companies have already made a big name for themselves, like nine-year-old storage specialist Shutterfly Inc., photo-editing service Picnik and image-sharing site Photobucket Inc.

Marketing strategy

Adobe says it hopes some customers will move from the free online photo editing software to boxed software like its $99 Photoshop Elements or to a subscription-based version of Express that's in the works.

Ron Glaz, a research analyst at IDC, says the move was necessary for Adobe to keep pace with competitors and attract new customers. Users are less likely to switch to a software they aren't familiar with, he said.

"They [Adobe] have a whole market that they are missing out on, and they need to make sure that the market is aware there is a Photoshop solution for them. As that market grows and becomes more sophisticated, hopefully it will generate money," Glaz said.

"It's one of those things, if you can't beat them, join them," Glaz said. "If they don't join them, the long run could be really painful."