Lacie’s online backup service, Wuala, has recently added a major new feature to its arsenal: the ability to synchronise folders between multiple computers using your online backup storage space as an intermediary device. This basically enables you to keep up-to-date and identical files and folders across your collection of PCs and Macs without having to have them all switched on and connected at the same time – files are simply uploaded in the background as part of your normal backup routine, and – if the folder is designated as a sync folder – it’ll automatically update the same folder on all other computers when they’re next switched on and connected to the internet.

The service comes in Free and Pro versions: the Free version offers 1GB of storage space purely for backup and sharing purposes; you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro version for synchronising and file versioning features, but the good news is that this doesn’t have to cost you anything. Wuala offers a cheap 10GB option – perfect for those looking for a sync tool with a decent wodge of cloud storage, but you can get by without spending a penny: if your computer is connected via a broadband connection and online for most of the day, Wuala will invite you to trade some of the spare capacity on your hard drive with its online servers, allocating the equivalent storage space online for you to use for free – and it’ll upgrade you to the Pro version to boot.

You can also access your files through your web browser, plus share files with friends via secret links, which enable them to download files from your storage to their computer. Paid prices start from €19 for 10GB of storage space per year – see Wuala’s website for more information.