Google this week began testing a desktop application - AdWords Editor - for managing multiple AdWords campaigns, in multiple accounts, and then bulk-uploading changes, reports ClickZ. "The application is particularly useful for advertisers with large accounts containing multiple campaigns and long keyword lists," according to a Google FAQ. AdWords Editor is available, initially, only to Windows 2000 or Windows XP users.

"Nothing too fascinating, but a smart move by Google - not only does an offline editor use less of their resources, it makes it just a little bit easier to manage an AdWords campaign and therefore just a little bit more appealing to buy AdWords," comments Greg Yardley on his blog.

A Google spokesperson told Click Z: "We are currently conducting a test of the AdWords Editor with a limited number of advertisers. In the future, we plan to open this up to a broader set of advertisers. At this time we don't have any specific details to share about the scope of the test or future plans."