In recent news, I read that Google will be releasing a second stock
offering to the public. As a relative novice to investing, how shall I
proceed to invest in Google?

Hi ruwbox,

Class A shares of Google stock are publicly traded on the NASDAQ
exchange, which means that you can buy them the same way as any other
stock.  (Class B shares are not for sale.)

The commonest way to do this is to open an account with a stockbroker.
 You will probably have to deposit some cash to do this.  Once you
have an account, you can place an order with the broker to buy some
stock.

A few pages with more information about this process:

"How to Buy a Stock," on the Stock and Investment Guide for Beginning
Investors website
http://pages.prodigy.com/wealth/howbuy.htm

"Trading - Basics" on the Investment FAQ website, by Chris Lott
http://invest-faq.com/articles/trade-a-basics.html

Investing 101 - Stock, by Rhonda Cliett on BellaOnline
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art20532.asp

Some companies sell stock directly to buyers.  Google doesn't do that,
as noted in their Investor FAQ.

http://investor.google.com/faq.html#ii8

Before you invest in any stock, it is advisable to read the
prospectus.  Your broker can provide a prospectus for Google at no
charge.  The prospectus for the current offering is available here:

http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/googlefiling20050818.htm


Obviously, this answer only slightly scratches the surface of the vast
topic of investing in stocks, but I hope it is enough to get you
started.  If anything is not clear enough or you need more
information, please ask for a clarification, and I'll do my best to
help.

--efn

Thanks for the concise answer.