Google Inc is launching a service that lets consumers pay for live video chats with experts who can provide everything from step-by-step turkey cooking instructions to marriage counseling.

The Google Helpouts service, introduced on Monday, features roughly 1,000 partners in fashion, fitness, computers and other topics, available for live, one-on-one video consultations. The video sessions can be as short as a few minutes or can last several hours, depending on the topic, with pricing set by each individual provider.

The Google signage is seen at the company's headquarters in New York January 8, 2013.

The video consultations represent an expansion of Google's traditional Web search service, which for years has answered consumers' questions by pointing people to the most appropriate Web page.

(Source: Reuters)