Google’s home page soon available with news, weather

Google Inc. launched a new personalized service Thursday that incorporates features such as Google News and Gmail onto the company’s notoriously sparse home page.

The service allows visitors to Google’s site to display content of their choosing below the query box on Google.com. Examples include headlines from The New York Times or the British Broadcasting Corp., stock quotes, weather information and as many as nine incoming Gmail messages, said Marissa Mayer, director of consumer Web products at Google.