Google have just made it easier for you to get real-time stock quotes.

They have announced, on the Official Google Blog, the launch of up-to-the-second prices on NASDAQ securities through Google Finance.

In the past, real-time stock data has only been available through a subscription or if you wanted it for free there was usually a 15 to 20 minutes delay - but not anymore!

Matthew Simmons from the Google Finance Team explains that “it’s important to have up-to-date market data,” “Prices will update automatically, once per second, to reflect current market conditions.”

CNBC and The Wall Street Journal also announced this new feature for their sites with no need to register to receive this information.

NASDAQ OMX Group Executive Vice President, Adena Friedman explains why they have made this data available. “With universal access to the Internet and the real-time nature of the Web, investors need real-time data, and now they don’t have to pay for it.”

In the meantime, Yahoo! announced a partnership last week with BATS Trading to offer free real-time quotes. Although the quotes currently cover the full market, Yahoo! has advised that they will also be expanded to portfolio and other finance pages in coming weeks. Perhaps in a bid to compete with this new feature from Google! Whichever source you choose to get your stock info from, in the end it is nothing but great news for all of us.